Taking Chances
by bubukittypuck
Summary: Marguerite's first person perspective on the relationship she has or does not have with Josef. She is freshie to Josef's who wants more. Will Josef and Marguerite take a chance? Love reviews, and mature content to come in later chapters.
1. Mar & Josef Sit'n In A Tree, DANCIN

Title: Taking Chances  
Author: Bubukittypuck  
Archived: , Fictionpress, and my laptop  
Summary: Marguerite's first person perspective on the relationship she has or does not have with Josef. She is fleshie to Josef's donor.  
Rating: It ranges from PG-13 to M later on.  
Pairings: OC/Josef  
Feedback: Review please though do not flame.  
Characters: Josef, Marguerite, Beth, Mick, and any other characters inhabiting Los Angeles.  
Beta's: None  
Author Notes: None for now.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Moonlight or the characters, though I do wish Moonlight does come back. For now, writing fanfics seems to stem the need to hunt down Jason Dohring and bring him back to my bedroom.

* * *

"Come, let's dance."

He held his hand out to me and I stood up to be led towards the dance floor. I knew of his history and how he easily he could snap my neck without even putting down his drink. Pressing myself against his body, I let him wrap an arm around my waist, pulling me flush to his own. The music started up and we danced, the people sitting at their tables and talking to one another in the charity ball watched us dance to the sensual number. I wondered at times if he had the same movements in the bedroom and it made me blush at the thought of it.

"Blushing now are you, it is unusual for you," Josef whispered in my ear, his breath caressing my neck, knowing he smelled the blood rising in my face and neck. Ever since meeting through Beth, Josef's best friend's woman, it was a fast and somewhat oddball friendship, if I call it that. I came to him as his fleshie, letting him drink from me in exchange for money to finance the ever growing college expenses.

I knew about his world because my sister had chosen to become immortal while I declined the offer. She did not look a day over seventeen while I was close to my twenty-first birthday. I never revealed my impending birthday to Josef for there was no reason to. There was no expectations between a fleshie and a vampire, nothing but to keep the blood as clean as possible. What point was there in wasting my health on drugs and alcohol when I could use my life's sustenance to help me in paying off the piling tuition bills.

Staring into Josef's eyes, I could see he wanted to know why I was blushing but he could find out for himself by listening to my voice and my heart beat. That is what I found out through Mick and his private eye skills. Through a human's heart beat and voice can the truth be revealed and never could a human lie his or her ass off to a vampire. "Just the dancing making me work a bit more than I usually do." With the information, I knew I could not lie to Josef but then I could not reveal to him the truth.

Ever since becoming his primary fleshie, I developed feelings for him over the past few months, wanting to be more than a walking blood donation, but it was hopeless. Beth, who was my confidant, revealed Josef loved another woman even though his love was in a immortal coma, he could never truly care and want another in his life. There was nothing between us other than exchanging of blood and I saw that I could not be the woman he wanted. Whenever I arrived at his home or office for his feeding, there were gorgeous cat walk models coming out of his office or home, looking like the cat got the cream. With his physique, there was no doubt he had a high stamina.

One look at myself in the mirror and I had an idea of what I compared to the women that warmed Josef's bed or his ice box for that matter. I stood at a petite five foot three and had curves that on a tall model could be considered too heavy but on me, I could pull off a pair of ass-hugging jeans and fill out a tank top quite nicely. All in all, I had the package that most men wanted but mostly I declined their offers and instead threw myself into my studies. Usually, I dressed down instead of up, trading those same ass-hugging jeans for pajama pants and a large men's white shirt when I attended class. It worked for me considering the hours I put into studying and only when I visited Josef did I wear my best clothing. Though I doubted he even noticed the jeans and the tank top, assuming he had seen it all and nothing impressed him anymore.

Turning away from his gaze, I looked around at the other couples dancing on the floor with us, catching the sight of Mick nuzzling Beth. A slight twinge of envy started in my chest but I quickly brushed it away with how Mick and Beth had known each other far longer than Josef and myself. Those two had grown difficult times, especially when Beth had been kidnapped by Coraline, Mick's wife, and even now, dealing with the fact that she was human and he was a vampire became apparent in their features. I wondered at times when Mick or Beth would bring up the subject of being together as in forever. There was no telling what could happen in a few years' time or certain events might part the two, but I tried not to think on it, knowing they would come to an agreement sooner or later.

Josef tightened his hold on my waist, my attention moving from Beth and Mick back to the man that I desired and wanted, was watching me. My eyes widened in surprise at the thought of being caught looking fondly at the other couple by him. I did not want to explain myself to him if he asked me what I was thinking. Instead he whispered, "You are blushing again." His eyes watched the vein in my neck jump slightly against my skin. I licked my parched lips and caught his gaze move towards my reddened lips. "You look beautiful, I must say," he commented, hearing the strain to get the words out. The words were force and I brushed the compliment quickly but not fast enough that I felt slightly giddy at his words.

Soon after the urge to kiss him kicked in and I needed to get away quickly before I ruined the evening for him by doing so. I started pulling away from him and he started to say something but we were interrupted by another female calling out for him. Turning in the direction of the voice, I smiled ruefully to myself. Veronika, another one of Josef's revolving bedmates came towards us. She was wearing, no, dipped in an outfit that revealed everything and anything to the public without ever being arrested for public nudity.

Josef held onto my hand, keeping me from making my hasty escape. Frowning, I turn to glance at him as Veronika stopped to lay her hand on Josef's forearm, a sign of territory in the female's world. "Sorry for the wait, I had a modeling shoot and it ran a bit late but I am here," Veronika said to Josef, ignoring the fact I was standing right next to him. One thing stuck out in my mind at Veronika's words was that she was invited by Josef and that she had arrived. Slowly, it dawned on me; I was the safety date, the person you could count on to be available if the first date does not pan out.

This was a pity invite and I was the person being pitied on because Josef called the day before the event to invite me. I had been excited enough that I did not question the late invite. All I was thinking was the fact that he sent a woman over with a slew of dresses to choose from, a hairdresser, as well as, a make up artist. When he sent a personal driver to pick me up, I felt I was in a fairy tale other than the fact my prince charming was a vampire, but still. Now, I the feeling of a princess was replaced by a woman used for the convenience of availability. "Who is she?," Veronika asked, finally having the decency to acknowledge my presence. Josef started once more but I cut him to the chase.

Grabbing Veronika's hand, I shook her hand. "The name is Marguerite and I am Josef's cousin by marriage. His uncle married my aunt a few months ago. Since you were originally his date, go on and take him, while I get a drink and find me a man," I answer, winking at Josef as I pulled away. Josef was displeased, showing it in the narrowing of his eyes and his mouth but he had his bed buddy and I was going to have fun nonetheless.

Wearing a dress that cost more than my first year's tuition, dolled up to a T, I planned on making this night interesting. Walking off of the dance floor and leaving Josef to deal with Veronika, I saw Beth look up from Mick's shoulder, sending a silent signal towards me. Mouthing, "I'm fine," to her, I headed towards the powder room, needing to freshen up a bit. Checking my mascara and powder, I dabbed a bit of oil off of my nose, reapplying my lipstick before placing the items back in my cleavage. With a dress like the one I was wearing, having a purse could ruin the effect. "Let me guess, you also have your cell phone strapped to your thigh and a bit of cash in your gloved hands," a female voice questioned, surprising me into looking up. Though the voice was a female, the Adam's apple bobbing up and down in the woman's neck revealed otherwise.

Turning to face her, I was slightly stunned by how beautiful the woman was in her dress. Other than the red flag of her birth sex, she could have been another one of Josef's leading bedmates. Though with this female, there was an air of comfort and friendliness. I adored that in people, never into being in groups of negative people. With one negative person, it was only time before the whole group became downers and I was not into moping over my shoe getting muddy or my nail chipping. If a person could not survive through muddy shoes, how could he or she get through the real world, as I saw it. In Los Angeles, quoting Marilyn Monroe's view on Hollywood, it was a place where it would pay me a thousand dollars for a kiss but fifty cents for my soul, was a great way to look at this city.

"That I did, though I had to use the blue tape instead of the duct tape, less of a pain once I have to rip the tape off," I commented, smiling as I stepped aside to let the mysterious woman wash her dainty hands. Another thing that got me, but knowing in Los Angeles, she could have gone to one of the best plastic surgeons to have herself made into the plastic Barbie doll. Her breasts were another thing that caught my attention. A man would get on his knees and motorboat those bazookas though I shrugged off the thought of doing it as well.

The woman as she washed her hands told me her name. Sasha was the female's name and we started to talk in the bathroom and moved it towards the open bar, settling our asses on the bar stools. "What will you ladies be having?," the cute bartender asked us. Smiling at him, I blushed slightly, finding myself enamored with him. Sasha ordered a scotch on the rocks while I ordered a glass of water. In a few days' time, I would be twenty-one and legally able to drink, but I found alcohol and I did not mesh well. At weddings, I had champagne and even Josef offered glasses of wine to sweeten my bloodstream but I declined every time.

"Here you go ladies, enjoy," the bartender placed the drinks in front of us, stopping to throw me a wink. The blush I had previously for him came back again, this time deepening in my face that I resembled a cherry. Sasha, my new companion nudged my side hard enough to cause a wince, reminding me once more this woman still had the mannerisms of a male which I admired even more.

"You need to jump on him quick before the other ladies rip his pants off, Marguerite." Hearing Sasha's words made me let out a crack of laughter, the kind that made me double over with the intensity of it. The bartender whom Sasha dubbed, 'Buns of Steel', came back to ask me what I was laughing about. Glancing at Sasha, I smiled, chewed on my lower lip, and winked at him. It was for me to know and for him to find out over a date tomorrow night if he was free. No idea what I was doing asking this bartender out when I had a crush on Josef but comparing who I had a change of a relationship, the bartender won out.

Exchanging numbers with the bartender, Sasha nudged me once more after James the Bartender went to pour another's drink. At least this time she nudged me less hard, whistling through her teeth at me in a gesture of admiration. "Darling, you are on fire," she whispered as she ordered another scotch. I nursed my glass of water, taking sips every few minutes. A tap on my shoulder brought my attention from wondering what James the Bartender could be wearing my bed sheet to Josef sans Veronika.

He threw on the 1000-watt of a smile on myself and at Sasha, who audibly swooned, fanning herself with her own hand. Smirking at seeing Sasha fall under Josef's alluring smile, she even went as far in asking if Josef was single, I could not help but enjoy the scene. Josef enjoyed the attention and fawning Sasha dished out. Made me think I only crushed on Josef because we were around each other and my active imagination started to make mountains out of mole hills with his glances and words. To him, it was a play he put on to everyone around him, reciting the same lines to different woman with the desired effect he usually had and then the same lines to remove the ladies from his life. With me it was no different though I had never been in his bed.

While he conversed with Sasha a bit, I noticed he had placed his hand on my lower back, his fingertips slowly caressing my spine. Standing up straight on the bar stool, I shied away from his hand but he moved forward to do it again. Heat started to rise up between places where it laid dormant but his hand stroking my lower back was awakening the urges to be satisfied in other areas. The kind which made a female's mind head into the gutter and pull out a few x-rated fantasies.

Quickly and without much thought, I jumped off of the bar stool, turning from Sasha's confused look and Josef's smirk towards the bar mirror hanging over the alcoholic beverages. "I remembered I forget to feed my dog, Phantom, his food. He gets moody when he does not get his food. I am going to head off and Sasha, it was a pleasure to meet you. You have my number and let's hang out as soon as you want." Smooth move, though Sasha was nice enough to play along. She agreed but she spilled the beans with calling her as soon as James the Bartender went out with me.

No glance was placed towards Josef, feeling his eyes burn holes into my face as he escorted me out of the ballroom. Mick and Beth as far as I could tell had left to his apartment to jumpstart their own kind of dancing. One of these days I was going to sit down with Mick and have him tell me his life story. Beth might have gotten the story before me but I wanted to know what Mick's life was about seeing that Josef's mouth was sewn up shut on his own history. "I enjoyed myself tonight, did you cousin Josef?," I joked, openly teasing him with the cousin comment. He did not say a word on it, waiting impatiently for the driver to come around, checking his watch every so often and tapping his foot.

When the driver came and stepped out to open the doors for us, Josef growled at him, "You are late, when we get back you're fired." Stopping before I entered into the private car, I smiled at the driver who was pale and slightly shaking. Hopefully, Josef would reconsider once he had a glass of blood in him. From the way he was acting, I guessed he was famished and needed a pick me up. Settling in the seat next to me, Josef merely glanced out the window, the nightlife whizzing by the windows.

After a few minutes of silence in the car, it was too much for me. "Have you drank tonight, Josef?," I inquired, turning to face him in the seat, placing my hands in my lap. The material of the red dress moved against my thighs and made me much aware of what I was wearing. This was a dress I would cherish knowing Josef had the dresser come to my off-campus apartment with a slew of dresses in my size, fit, and favorite colors. Made me wonder if he had watched me closer than I assumed.

Josef did not say a word and I went back to my thoughts. Once arriving at my apartment did I remove myself from the thoughts of James and our impending date and glanced once more towards Josef. His eyes were searching for something out in the distance but I could tell he was ignoring me for leaving him with Veronika. Why he was upset about it, I had no clue. Instead, he should have been happy I did not cause a scene with the woman on the dance floor. "Good night, Josef," I whispered, stepping out of the car and thanking the driver. I pulled out a twenty, handing it to the man, thanking him once more for the drive here. The driver smiled and nodded as I headed up the stairs towards the door.

"Marguerite, wait."

I turned having pushed the key into the door, ready to turn it and head inside. Josef was at the foot of the stairs, his hands in his pockets, and looking as if he wanted to say more. Crossing my arms, I leaned against the door, cocking my head to the side in wonderment of what he wanted now. He obviously wanted nothing to do with me and I figured he wanted to tell me he no longer needed my services. A small pang started in my chest and it felt almost a break up though we were not together as a couple and he would easily forget me once he threw me to the side.

"If you are trying to tell me I am fired, then get it over with, and I can start looking for another job," I replied, sighing, rubbing my forehead. Taking another glance up, I was not surprised to see him standing in front of me. Josef and his abilities intrigued me more than I ever thought could be possible. When he first tried to scare me when interviewing to become one of his fleshies, he asked if I was afraid of him. Oh, he pulled out all the stops, with the flaring of his fangs, his eyes, growling at me, and even throwing a few items around me, all of it trying to see if I was going to run in the other direction. I passed since I had no bad marks on my criminal record and reminded him my sister was, Iris, famous for her jazz and blue playing skills and a vampire as well.

Sighing, he looked away towards the skyline and back to me. "I am not firing you, Marguerite. Instead, I was trying to come up with why you told Veronika you were my cousin." He smiled and I could not help but smile back. When you thought about it, telling someone Josef was my cousin by marriage was a bit farfetched, seeing that Josef never mentioned any living family members. There was a good chance all of his family bloodline died off and he was the only one holding the surname. Beth mentioned a vampire and a human could have a child though it had never been tried or even spoken of in the community and she thought of a little MickBeth running around, his/her baby fangs flashing as it waited to be bottle fed blood.

As I glanced at his face of what I could see casted on by my porchlight, I tried to tell myself he and I were different and a relationship was impossible. No matter what, he was the employer and I was the employee, no crossing the line and that was that. "It helped to squash what could have been a sticky situation, Josef. Better to let her think I was a cousin than your date or in her mind, something more. Veronika is the kind of girl to start a cat fight and then blame it on hormones, Josef."

He seemed to agree, commenting Veronika asking all sorts of questions about me. "Yes, she kept asking about whether I had asked you before her and if I was doing it out of duty." Ouch, it stung but I let it slide. There was no need for explainations or what was spoken between the Veronika and him. Once more I had to silently explain to myself the line between professionalism and stoping the urge to come onto Josef, my boss. Thoughts of being more than a fleshie to him had to be squashed in order to keep things professional.

I watched him watch me. "I am not upset or anything just to let you know. I was a bit pissed that you had me as a shoe-in date but I got over it once I met Sasha and...," I faltered, not knowing how to place James into the sentence. No shame should have been felt on my part since we were not dating or anything for that matter. Josef's hand reached out and caressed my cheek an action that seemed out of place for him. Never did I suspect he touched a woman in this manner unless it was to seduce them to his bed. However, we were standing in front of my apartment door, bidding each other good night as far as I assumed he was being nice enough to see me to my door.

"And the bartender that is taking you out tomorrow night," Josef commented. The son of a gun. He heard the conversation between the bartender and myself. If his ears picked up on the interaction with James the Bartender then he must know about the bathroom talk with Sasha. I prayed he had not picked up on that. He leaned in close to me and whispered against my neck, "Next time, you must show me how you strapped on the cell phone to your thigh and even lend an extra pair of helping hands." God, what mortification I felt as I shut my eyes and groaned in embarassment.

When I opened my eyes, Josef was at the door of his private car, waving goodbye to me. I swear on a stack of Cosmopolitans he smirked up at me but I could not tell by the darkness engulfing the Los Angeles area. "He is going to be the death of me or something else," I whispered beneath my breath. Shaking my head, I turned around to let myself into the apartment. One last time, I glanced over my shoulder, seeing the car drive away, the headlights dimming in the shrouding night.

* * *

Now that is it for the first chapter or maybe it might be a one shot depending on how people respond to it. I want reviews, it helps fuels the writing process. Please review but no flaming, unless you know me personally, then you can.


	2. Gone with Voicemail

Title: Taking Chances Chapter 2:  
Author: Bubukittypuck  
Archived: , Fictionpress, and my laptop  
Summary: Marguerite's first person perspective on the relationship she has or does not have with Josef. She is fleshie to Josef's donor.  
Rating: It ranges from PG-13 to M later on.  
Pairings: OC/Josef  
Feedback: Review please though do not flame.  
Characters: Josef, Marguerite, Beth, Mick, and any other characters inhabiting Los Angeles.  
Beta's: None  
Author Notes: None for now.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Moonlight or the characters, though I do wish Moonlight does come back. For now, writing fanfics seems to stem the need to hunt down Jason Dohring and bring him back to my bedroom.

* * *

After another day of classes, I was ready to take a nice, leisurely bath, study while in the bath and get ready for my date with James the Bartender. He called during my Mexican-American history class to confirm the date and double-check on the address I gave him. James planned to pick me up from my apartment and take me out to dinner and a movie. Not bad, considering I had not seen a movie in the past two month's. If James wanted to see the new Indy flick, I was all for it, since I had a older man crush on Harrison Ford for the longest time, and seeing Ford crack the whip was a favorite thing of all time. Well, not favorite of all time, but in the top ten things I enjoyed in movies.

"There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes. A kind of..."

Josef's ringtone which was David Bowie's, 'As the World Falls Down', started to sing next to my ear, disturbing the little cozy atmosphere I built for myself in the bathroom. Though I knew he could not see me bathing, I still grabbed a towel and placed it over my chest in the bubble bath.

"Hello?," I asked as I started to shave one leg while holding the phone with my shoulder and ear and scan the pages of my history book. The only sounds in the bathroom were the water sloshing against my skin, the telling scrape of the razor gliding over my legs and the pages being flicked quickly back and forth.

Seconds went by before Josef said a word. For a bit, I assumed the call disconnected but Josef was not the one to hang up on a person he was trying to reach. "I called to wish you good luck on your date and to remind you that you are needed later on for a feeding." That was odd. He rarely asked me to come for feeding if something else came up. When I had a midterm test to study over, he had insisted I studied before anything else. I assumed he would want to reschedule his feeding tomorrow.

"Josef, I thought I could come over tomorrow because the date might run over into the feeding time. James and I are going to the movies first and then have dinner, that is if we are not stuffed with popcorn and ice cream." More seconds went by as I heard him shuffle papers around, guessing he was at his newly remodeled office after it had gotten blown up the first time. There was a wonder if he was stalling for an excuse or not. As I waited for him to reply to me, I set my cell phone on speaker, and placed it to the side as I went to shave my other leg.

"Do you have a test to study for?," he asked.

"No," I replied, wondering where this was leading towards.

"Are you sick?"

"Nope," I answered, as I dunked my head in the water and washed out the shampoo.

"How about your parents?"

"No, they are fine. Still traveling around Mexico," I replied, scrubbing the soap over hands, arms, and neck.

Once, Iris, my sister's career took off as a blues and jazz musician, she went out of her way to buy my parents a motor home, paid off the mortgage, and even offered to pay my first year of tuition, but I declined. Our parents needed the money more than me after seeing them give tooth and nail to support the two of us in our education. That is what Iris did and used the money intended for me in paying off the mortgage for another home for Mom and Dad in Mexico. The image of my mother crying her eyes out and my dad holding back a few tears from shedding when my sister handed the deed to the house over to them was a sight to behold. It was my parents dream to go back to Mexico and spend their retirement years with the rest of the clan.

"That's good and is Iris in town?"

"No and you would know before me, Josef. Now what is with the questions?." This was starting to become an inquisition and I was not ready for him to quarter me to make me spill the secrets of where I hid the Godiva chocolates.

"It shows that there is nothing important that is keeping you from breaking our appointment tonight. I will have a driver pick you up at 9pm and do not be late, Marguerite." With that, he hung up, the dial tone ricocheting off the bathroom walls. On the other side of the lane, Josef, was slightly irritated, Marguerite had not put him before James. Hell, he was the one making sure her college expenses were paid off and even pulled in a few favors to have her light and gas bill lowered. He felt this need to tell the bartender boy off and even pay him off to leave her alone but that was pushing it far past his comfort zone.

I, on the other hand, groaned and sunked lower into the tub, the water sloshing over the rim of the tube as I thought about my options. There was no way I was going to cancel a few shorts hours before the date I had with James. Instead, I would ask him to come by earlier and still make the movie and dinner date before the appointment. Josef could be a stubborn ass when he wanted to be. Still, there was no reason for him not to let me enjoy this date thoroughly. I even asked him last night if he needed blood but he blew the question off. Instead, I was going to make the best of this situation and I needed to move quickly.

First call was made to James in requesting to push the date up earlier. He actually was considerate and even said he was anxious to take me out. A bit strange considering in Los Angeles, men like him were hard to find. The kind of guy, who actually called a girl after exchanging numbers and did not wait several weeks before calling said girl for a date was a rare thing around here. Most of the men I met in Los Angeles had the Peter Pan syndrome. What was known as men who still wanted to act like children and not take responsibility was the Peter Pan syndrome which overtook a lot of the eligible men in L.A. Those who were not single were either married or gay, most of the time gay and married; though it took a few years before the married men came out the closet.

Second and last call was made to Josef to let him know the appointment was still on. "You are so going to owe me a box of Godiva's and maybe a chew toy for Phantom," I said to him when he picked up the call. Phantom laid his high and mighty self on the closed toilet seat and raised his head up when I mentioned his name, ears up to listen in on the conversation.

"Phantom will get his chew toy tonight when you come for the appointment. James will have to wait another time to take you out to dinner," he said, his fingers tapping on the keyboard, bringing up the background check he asked Mick to do as a favor. Mick was suspicious and asked the roll of questions but when Josef commented it was for Marguerite's safety, Mick had let it go though he knew the real reason.

Beth and Mick saw what was starting between Josef and Marguerite, even if the two did not realize it. Even Beth was starting to drop hints around Josef that Marguerite was an attractive and intelligent woman once you sat down and talked to her. Mick tried to stop Beth everytime she did so, but with Beth, there was no stopping her. He knew there could be a possible relationship between his best friend and his fleshie but only time would tell.

"That is a riot, you thinking I am still not going out tonight with James. I called James and we are heading to the movie in thirty minutes, which means I need to get out of this tub and hurry my ass up," I teased as I jumped out of the tub and grabbed my fluffy robe.

On the other side of the line, Josef made clenched his fist, sweeping aside items on his desk. The items clanked towards the ground, a glass of blood spilling on the carpet, another reason he was going to be angry. He tried to explain away the fury he felt at Marguerite's words by the fact she loved to goad him. One of the many things he enjoyed was her penchant for sarcasm, a thing he was known for. "Is that so? Well, make sure he has those parking tickets paid off if he wants to pick you up." Josef smiled when he noticed James' troubles with parking tickets. One call to the police department and he could estimate twenty minutes it would take before the bartender's car was towed away.

As I dried and toweled off the extra water from my hair, I stopped at Josef's words. Josef is a powerful man and known to get his way but he was not about to ruin the potential date between James and I. From what I heard, he could have been the one who made Jimmy Hoffa disappear and put Geraldo up to ruin his credibility in trying to locate Hoffa. Though Josef intimadated other people into doing his bidding, I was not about to let him walk all over me.

"Don't think about it or even go through with it, Josef. What is the big deal about me going on a date? I am not going to do anything out of place other than maybe let him get to second base with me." I smiled at the thought of a kiss from James and even third-basing it with him.

Another thing Josef and Marguerite were fond of was the fact the two could joke around. There were times it grated one another's nerves and Mick's, but both enjoyed it more when Mick was the one foaming angrily at the mouth. At times, Mick even voiced Marguerite and Josef were one other's doppelgangers. Quickly, it had sobered Josef up and made him get behind the shield he kept around everyone, even his best friend. Those were times Marguerite's thoughts ran wild with the idea of Josef opening his heart to her and declaring his need to be with her as more than a fleshie.

Laughter emitted from the phone as I changed into the ass-hugging jeans which made my behind look better than Beyonce's, but not as grand as J. Lo's. Several turns in the mirror placed against the corner of my room let me know the jeans might make James' pulse jump and anything else I hoped to make jump as well. A wanton smile danced along my lips if Josef were to see me in this outfit, but it deflated as quickly.

"What do you think I am plan on doing, Marguerite?," he asked as he did the R letter rolling again. Damn him and his vibrating tongue. Once more, an x-rated thought emerged in my head. It involved Josef using his tongue for other purposes, one of which, made me moan out his name when he used his tongue.

Like Sasha, I fanned myself to keep cool as I dragged a t-shirt over my head. I went for the laid-back but hot-to-strut look. "How about you trying to get his car towed just before he has to pick me up. Which is in fifteen minutes, by the way," I answered as I dabbed lotion on my arms and rubbed it into my arms and elbows. In the family, we were known for ashy elbows and I prayed James did not try to rub my elbow as a gesture of affection while in the movies or at dinner.

Josef and I went back and forth. He stated that he could not be blamed if James was late with payment on tickets. I came back with him to let me make my mistakes. From the long message Beth left on my voice mail this morning, Josef was concerned with how I lived. Yes, I lived in an off-campus apartment by myself and usually walked or used local transportation to get to and from class but there was no complaint from me. Saved money on gas since it was up to 4.00 a gallon and the money I saved as a non-car owner went to my Europe trip fund.

Now, that was another thing I had not mentioned to Josef. I planned to back-pack and explore the sights of Europe and even think about study abroad if the experienced was worthwhile. Beth and Mick once again informed me Josef had not been in Europe in several centuries and I wondered why. Those two tell me things but never reveal the whole story which is a good thing to keep everyone protected. What one does not know will not have to be tortured for hours on end to tell before tortured a few more hours and then finally put out of their misery. That is what Josef said to me on the second day I met him. Such a way to charm the ladies, I say.

Last turn in the mirror and I was ready for my date as the conversation with Josef wound down. "Now, dad, you know I will make sure to call if anything goes wrong," I teased and laughed at the way Josef started to act like my own father. Even my own father was not this overzealous when my sister and I were asked out on dates. My dad had the decency not to have the date's knees broken unless said date had harmed or assaulted me in any way. Which only happened once but I had taken care of the guy before my father had a chance to teach him a lesson.

Josef scoffed on the other side of the line and I smiled at his over protectiveness. One more thing I liked about him and which made it harder not to fall for him. He was betrothed as I saw it to a vegetable named Sara but he was not about to change it for anyone. "Be very happy I am not your father plus it would make it incestuous with our meetings," he teased as he caused another blush to rise in my cheeks. I was only grateful he could not see the blood pooling in my face and neck.

With my purse in hand, I threw in the necessary items and heard a knock at the door. "Josef, I have to go because James is here and I will be back at the house before nine for the meeting. Now, I will text you to let you know how the date is going just to get you off my back. Bye." I did not let Josef get a word in on the last part and it was better that way. He might have twisted my hand and make me to text him every hour or minute if he had it his way. The way he was acting might have given me thought to him caring. Impossible, though I guessed he wanted to make sure his fleshie did not spill secrets on the date. I signed a confidentiality form and even had a blood oath on top it to show my loyalty to the company which contracted the fleshies.

_The first time Josef used me as his fleshie was the third day after I came into his service. He had called me on my phone as I headed off to my civilizations class. When you are trying to talk about feeding schedules, it is a hard thing to do while on a bus full of people surrounding me. I was afraid throughout the bus ride that someone would call the cops if I started to ask where the best spot he liked to bite and drink from on a female body. However, people in this city had heard, seen, and participated in a lot of odd events and to me, I was a regular L.A. girl._

_Josef laughed into the phone and asked what spot worked best for me. Since I attended school and had group study sessions, I requested the inside of my arms. No one would notice the puncture wounds unless someone was a licensed dermatologist then detection was low. He had not questioned my location and it was strange he had not pushed further. _

_After my last class, I was picked up by a private driver, and taken to Josef's office. There the whole thing was a blur with being identified with fingerprints and eye scans. I only assumed it happened in Mission Impossible movies but I guessed it happened in real life as well. Once I passed all of the necessary tests and at one point I thought I was going to be asked stand on one foot and recite the star spangled banner for the enjoyment of others, I was led into Josef's main office. _

_He stood by the tinted windows and stared out at the Los Angeles I admired and at times was ashamed of. What most people had no clue of was Los Angeles was not its real name. It was shortened from El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula, also known as, The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola to Los Angeles. Try to say L.A's real name five times and see if there is no stumbles or tongue ties._

A knock at my front door brought me back to the present as I realized James awaited me. I looked back down at my cell phone one last time and noticed Josef had texted me. The text could be answered back later and I placed it in my phone and opened the door to James.

"Wow, you look great," were the first words James said to me. A point for him with the compliment and even another for the way he was dressed. He took the time to shave the 5 o'clock shadow I had seen him sporting last night at the charity ball. Donned in a pair of dark denim jeans, black low-top converses, white t-shirt, and a black dinner jacket made me realize I was on a date and it was not Josef; one point to me and one smile plus a 'thank you' was thrown towards James.

With the door locked up behind me, Phantom eating his weight in food in his room, James and I started our date out right. He opened the door to his 1967 Ford Mustang and walked around the front of his car to start up the engine and drive us to Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Just as I suspected we watched the new Indiana flick, I drooled over Harrison Ford and his whip.

* * *

Several times during the movie, James held my hand and I caught him glancing at me when he thought I was not looking. Sweet gesture and I even reached out over the armrest to interlink my fingers with his. He smiled and he leaned over towards me. Like the relationship inept fool that I am, I assumed he wanted to comment on the movie, and I leaned in as well. When his lips pressed themselves against my own a small jolt started in my chest at the touch.

"I have wanted to do that since last night," he whispered into my ear while his hot breath fanned against my neck. The little smirk of mine played itself across my lips at his words as I kissed him once more, forehead pressed against his own. I had no idea what this feeling was but the image of Josef watching me in the movie theatre flashed in my head. Slowly, I pulled myself away from James, looking in every direction of the dark theatre. I swore I had felt the presence of Josef in the place but I must have been under the influence of James's kisses.

Once more, I reached out and grabbed James hand and teasingly said, "How about we get out of here before we get kicked out for public indecency?" He nodded and we grabbed our things while excusing ourselves to reach the exit door. At the entrance, James pulled me closer to nuzzle my neck and I felt the urge to blow off the appointment. Josef would understand but I knew he would make the Devil cringe in his hooves if I blew the meeting off.

* * *

Off we went back to my place to make our own dining experience but as James drove us back to my place, I kept going back to Josef in the movie theatre. Somehow, it was not a mirage of him at the flick. Maybe I was trying to make myself believe he could go out of his way to check on me on the date. Pulling out my cell phone, I checked the screen and found there were five new text messages and a voicemail. During the movie, I had placed the phone on silent and until now, I forgotten to turn it back to full ring.

While James contemplated the best route to get back to my apartment, I read over the text messaged and listened to the voicemail. Voicemail was from Sasha how the date went or if it is still going and for me to use condoms and lots of lubrication. Sasha is one of those females I adore immensely even though I have known her for two days'. What can I say? I am trusting of people though I can feel out a faker from a real friend. Sasha is one of those rare but real friends I can see being around for however long I want her to be.

The text messages were from Josef, Mick, and Beth. Three of those text messages were from Josef, each one asked how the date was going and a reminder not be late. I would think he was only using my blood for nourishment and not the two other fleshies on call. Two months into the gig, Josef bumped me up as primary fleshie while Sonja and Gabriela were back up's in case I was too weak to feed him or I was too busy with school. After Josef's text, I read Beth's and found myself smiling.

Her text read: Watch out with James. Josef thinks he is a creep. Call me later.

The thought of James being a creep did not cross my mind. This was another in a long line of events which made me wonder where vampire/fleshie went past the line. Even Josef's offer to help me tape my cell phone to my thigh was a bit over the top. Usually, he kept his sex-filled innuendos to his bedmates but when he said it to me I felt there was more than the recited spiel. Once again, I was trying to make mountains out of a mole hill. When I was I going to make myself grow out of the fairy-tale junk.

With Mick text it said: Don't mind Josef's intrusion. Wants to make sure you are safe and out of harm.

Mick, a man most women would not kick out of their beds and between other places was a good guy all around. I was not around when he was human but from the conversations Beth and I had, Mick gave it his all in living life. When Beth was kidnapped, he had willingly given up his humanity for her. That was a man to keep around.

I turned to look at James, his eyes on the road, a scowl planted his face. "Hate this stupid afternoon traffic," James muttered, who turned and apologized for his language before placing his attention towards the road again. James was something but not the one I wanted. Damn, I needed to pull myself together with the whole Josef situation. Most females would be glad to at least have one man in their lives especially in Los Angeles. A part of me wanted James and another part told me to wait for Josef. The part which waited for Josef was one I hated and wished could want James the Bartender. For now, I could push aside the feelings for Josef and try this out with James and hopefully, both sides could fall for James.

The car stopped and I looked up at my apartment. "We are here," I whispered, throwing him a forced smile at him. He smiled back and asked, "Are you sure about this? I don't want you to think I am some kind of horn-dog because I am not, even though I work as a bartender...and..." I kissed James to shut up his cute but somewhat long explaination.

Truly, I wanted every part of me to take this guy and have him six ways from Sunday but at the moment all I thought about was alone time before the meeting. I wanted to get my thoughts together and not have Josef pounding at the door if he heard me screaming in pleasure. An inner glee came from the thought of Josef jealous because I was in the arms of another man. Though, it would only work if he had feelings invested in me other than the need to drink my blood.

James was slightly disappointed when I told him the 'reason' I had called him to push the date up was the fact I had to 'visit' my sister for our bi-weekly lunches. A nice half-lie, since I have lunches with my sister to play catch up in one another's lives but it was once a month we did that. He understood the need for family and we scheduled a second time even though I had no clue what I thought of him whether it was a friends with benefit, but even then, we have not even slept together to even be that.

A walk to my door and another kiss goodbye and I headed inside. I was wrung out with raging thoughts of what Josef was to me and what I was to him. Even Phantom with his big, brown eyes staring up at me was no help to cheer up my spirits. The nap I promised myself would help for the meeting which by my bedside clock was in an hour. Great, just great.

* * *

Another chapter, another day. Hope everyoone liked this one and I shall hope to get more reviews as well. Going to start on the next chapter and maybe a bit of love might be in there as well.


	3. Kiss Me, Kill Me, Whatever

Title: Taking Chances- Chapter 3: Kiss Me, Kill Me, Whatever  
Author: Bubukittypuck  
Archived: Here of course, Fictionpress, and my laptop  
Summary: Marguerite's first person perspective on the relationship she has or does not have with Josef. She is fleshie to Josef's donor.  
Rating: It ranges from PG-13 to M later on.  
Pairings: OC/Josef  
Feedback: Review please though do not flame.  
Characters: Josef, Marguerite, Beth, Mick, and any other characters inhabiting Los Angeles.  
Beta's: None  
Author Notes: None for now.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Moonlight or the characters, though I do wish Moonlight does come back. For now, writing fanfics seems to stem the need to hunt down Jason Dohring and bring him back to my bedroom.

**

* * *

****"Kiss me."**

**Those two words set off a wildfire of desire. Lips smashed against one another in a frenzy of hands ripping and tearing of clothes. When skin met against skin, a growl was heard from his voice. Both threw themselves onto the bed, pulling the sheets from the bed, and the pillows towards the floor. There was no use for anything but a bed that supported their weight. She looked up at him and laughed. He smirked and laughed with her as he turned away from her. A second later, his face changed. He sneered and showed his glinting fangs and before she could react, he sank his teeth into her.**

* * *

"Ahhhh!" I screamed and stood up in bed. Sweat beaded along my forehead as I tried to brush off the dream/nightmare from my mind. Whatever the dream was, I knew who the person bit me was. Josef. Groaning, I placed my face in my hands, pulling my knees up to my chest. Even in my dreams, Josef appeared there without invitation.

'I like big butts and I cannot lie...'

Sir Mix-A-Lot's, "Baby Got Back", blasted through my alarm clock, signaling time was 8:45 pm. I had exactly fifteen minutes to fix myself up as best as I could before Josef's private driver came. For payback, I should have gone back to sleep and let the driver pound my door over and over until he called Josef to let him know I was not there. What a riot it would be if Josef made himself believe I blew him off to spend time with James. I would pay top dollar to see him filled with jealousy if I gave my attention and even sarcasm over to James. A slew of laughter ensued at the mere thought of Josef getting huffy and pouty over me.

Pulling the bed sheets off of me, I slid out of bed and padded towards the bathroom. The make-up I had worn during the date was now smudgy and messy. If Batman needed a Joker at the moment, I was a shoe-in. Several twists of the faucet, I cupped my hands beneath the lukewarm water and scrubbed with the bar of aloe soap the make-up off, revealing a fresh and bright eyed me in the mirror. Narrowing my eyes, I flickered over my reflection in the mirror, and smiled at myself.

After two years of wearing metal braces, my teeth were as straight as can be considering I disliked wearing the retainer afterwards. As a result of foregoing lisping while wearing the retainer, one of my top canines pushed a few degrees farther than the rest of my smile but it was not noticeable. The only person who noticed it was Josef. Why were a lot of things coming back to this man, this insufferable, dream invading, sexual commenting, vampire, was a question I wanted to discover as soon as I could.

"Smile and the world smiles right back," I muttered as I changed quickly out of my popcorn smelling t-shirt and into a sleeveless tank top. The words, 'Sleeping Beauty' and the image of Beauty and her Prince decorated the shirt, remembering it was a gift from my niece, Juley, for my 20th birthday. I was surprised it still fit, especially since my adoration with chocolate had increased over this past school year. Chocolate, at least, was not the cause for acne and zits, but helped to fight illness with its anti-oxidants. Hearing that information made me feel a lot better when I ate the half a bowel of chocolate truffles while on my monthly cycle.

Knocking at my door announced the arrival of the private driver and I snatched my purse and cell phone. A blown kiss was thrown towards Phantom as he laid himself proudly on the couch, warning him to watch the house. He answered with a bark and a wag of his tail.

Phantom, a family pet which I snatched up when the parents packed up to head to Mexico in the new motor home had no time to look after him while on the road. Iris, my sister, had insisted she take Phantom, but I knew with her touring and music career, Phantom, would become sad and desperate for attention. Myself, I had the pleasure of scheduling my class hours and with the money acquired through scholarships there was no need to find a job the first two years of college which freed up my time with Phantom. The upside to the school I attended allowed animals if under a certain weight and had the appropriate shots.

When I opened the door, I was surprised to see the old driver, whom I thought Josef had fired. Seems, Josef gave him another chance or the driver had begged uncontrollably at his feet. Either way, I was happy to see him back and I smiled at him as I locked up the apartment. "Josef is waiting at his home, Miss De La Cruz," the driver announced as he opened the car door to me.

Slipping into the door, he shut it behind me as I laid back and buckled up. This driver I liked above the rest because he managed to find the quickest routes to and from places without ever being pulled over by the police. The police had better things to do then pull this car over with Britney Spears crashing her new car every other day and Lindsay caught with coke in her pants.

Tonight, I was slightly nervous especially since Josef had intervened in my date. I had a few questions to ask him and I hoped he would not lie or try to change the subjects to other things. He was a master of avoiding issues but I was not about to let him go around my questions, even if I had to repeat myself a million times.

"We will be arriving in less than ten minutes," the driver commented through the open partition window. One second later, he closed the window, separating himself from me as I went back to the raging thoughts. What I wondered most of all was went though Josef's head. To be able to pick at his brain could be considered one of the wonders of the world. Forget the Pyramids and the Eiffel Tower, but to hear Josef speak about the history he had seen and even participated in, I could give up my love of chocolate for it.

* * *

Tap, tap, tap went his fingers on his mahogany desk in his private library as he contemplated over what laid in store for him and her. He rubbed the back of his head and cupped his neck, frustrated with how things were going for him. Josef had no clue what he was doing with the likes of her. She was his meal and nothing else. However, at times, he cherished the times he was in her company, her smile radiating throughout the room, and her laughter. Closing his eyes, he tried to recreate the moment when he first heard her laugh.

_It was the month of January. Clearly, he remembered her wearing a blue tank top with the Rolling Stones logo imprinted on it and a pair of dark denim jeans. She wore flip flops with bright red nail polish which caught his eye when he started to assess her. Never had he seen an interviewing fleshie wear clothes he usually saw on a surfer after having the perfect wave. For a second there, he expected to hear her with the typical surfer lingo inserted into her interview. _

_When she instead started off with the spiel about psychology of colors and what a person wore affected the moods and thoughts of everyone around them, he was a caught off guard. "What does my colors mean?," he asked, slightly interested in what she had to say about his wardrobe. _

_He smiled as she scanned his clothing and the narrowing of her eyes made him wonder what conclusions she came to. "Though from what I hear that you like to have fun and be the one everyone wants to have fun with. However, you like to wear darker colors which offset the real you from the you you put on to people. Think of it this way, you play a role to people but take a look at your wardrobe colors and it clearly shows who you really are." She narrowed her eyes and stood up, leaning over the table to get a better look of his tie. _

_"What else?," he asked, his interest peaked a bit more now. _

_"The use of black in your jacket, trousers, and shoes declare you suppress and keep your emotions locked up tight along with wanting to come off as intimidating in this interview. Most men and women of higher power use it to make others nervous and falter around them," she replied as she sat back in her seat and leaned back._

_Smirking, he rushed to her, fangs flashing and eyes blazing with the power he held back on a tight leash. He growled in her face and noticed she was not crouching in fear or anxiety. Instead, she laughed right in his face. She threw her head back and laughed. He even heard her snort, which was a rare thing to hear from the women of Los Angeles. Most of the females that were human were as fake as the bleach-blonde hair and the plastic surgery bodies they had._

_Marguerite covered her mouth and tried to stifle another wave of laughter she felt at the antics Josef pulled around her. "If you haven't looked at the application and the background check sent to you, I have a sister that is a vampire, and she has made me immune to the fangs and eyes glowing. Had enough of her trying to get me to have a heart attack every time she came around to visit." Crossing her arms, she cocked an eyebrow at him, waiting if he was going to try and give her a potential heart attack as well._

_Impressive, he thought to himself as he pulled back and strolled back to his chair. After that, things went uphill._

* * *

Josef growled as he realized where his thoughts laid. He gripped the bat-shaped stress ball, Mick, presented to him for Halloween. Mick, whenever there was a chance, liked to unload trinkets here and there. There was a small drawer full of quirky gifts he received over the years from Mick and the small vacations he took. Even in World War II, his friend had a chance to move around Europe unlike him.

Opening and closing his hand around the stress ball helped slightly to alleviate his blood pressure. Though he had a pulse and was not cold-blooded whenever Marguerite was around, she seemed to push the buttons on his emotions. After what happened with James earlier today, he would not be surprised if she blew his ear drums out with one of her speeches.

Secretly, he was amused by her thoughts on politics, religion, psychology, and even on sexuality. She was not afraid to talk about sex openly and without the need to solicit him for it as Gabriela and Sonja often did when Marguerite was not available. Though there were times he wondered whether he could get her to come on to him.

"Penny for your thoughts?," the voice which enticed and angered him filtered into his head and into his library.

"You do not have enough pennies for my thoughts. My thoughts cost more than you think," he answered, swiveling in his chair to get a better look at her. She wore a tank top with the image of Sleeping Beauty on it, where he wondered if she wore it on the date. Her arms were bare save for the black quartz bracelet adorning her right wrist. A gift sent to her no doubt by her parents in Mexico. The rest of her enchanted him on a level he hated to think about.

Thanks to her family genetics, she had seemed to catch the luck of the draw with her raven-haired curls she kept around her face or in a half-ponytail. Her eyes reminded him of the Godiva chocolates she favored and the eye shape of the famous Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. Marguerite's lower lip was fuller than the top but she had a habit of chewing and pulling at it when she was nervous or bored. Caramel skin covered the muscles, bones, cartilage, and organs which at times he wanted to stroke and work under his fingers. There were times he clenched his hands into fists to stop himself whenever she came for feedings.

He knew she dressed down for classes and dressed up when she came to him. A man like him made sure to keep an eye on his investments. Inwardly, he winced at how he made it sound as if she was a whore and he was her pimp or even 'John'. Nonetheless, when she appeared before him at the charity ball, his stomach clenched in awe and the basic need to possess her. Even now, he wondered where the hell the emotion came from but he pushed it to the back of his mind and down the list.

* * *

"I doubt your thoughts are worth my pennies but answer me this: Why the intrusion with James and I?," I asked, leaning over his mahogany desk and stared him down. Josef simply frowned at me and my stomach clenched painfully and embarrassingly at the thought of his smile being because he was jealous of what could be between James and I.

Josef threaded his fingers together and answered, "James is a liability." No explanations were given and I knew he was not about to make it easy. He never did and the way he kept things from me, somehow I guessed it was for the best. However, I was interested in James and would not let Josef ruin the chance I might have. No matter what, I had to tell him my piece.

Before I had the chance, Josef stood up from his chair, and pushed it back, a sign he wanted to get stated on the feeding. By the way he looked, I estimated he had drank but not from a human vein. There was dislike he had for the packaged blood and his use of freshie was known in the company. It was a surprise to the company he had not fired me within the first few weeks of employment. Seemed I had broken a record of being his freshie for more than a few months now and rumors spread in the company I was bedding Josef, the rumors were false. Even though at times, I wondered what it might be like to sleep in the bed but then I remembered he used the bed solely for his sexcapades.

With the image of Josef in the arms of another female it blocked out Josef's next words and I had to ask him to repeat it to me again. "Tilt your head to the side," he repeated, clearly frustrated at having to repeat himself. I looked up at him and wondered why he wanted my neck instead of my arm. To show him where he was about to bite, I held out my arm to him, flexing the vein beneath my skin. His eyes looked down at my arm but clicked his tongue.

"Why?," I asked and stood up to face him. Due to height differences, the top of my head hit him at mid-chest and I had to cock my head back in getting better look at him. There were times he joked how because of my height, I was a freshie on the go meal and he could pick me up on the way to his meeting, take a drink, put me back down, or save me for later. I had laughed and even snorted a bit and even my mother at times wondered which side of the family the snorting thing came from. I had my father's temper and my mother's need in wanting the last word in an argument, but most of the time, I assumed with was my mother's side of the family. She had a loud and booming laugh where everyone stopped what he or she were doing and investigate who was the one with the laugh.

It might not be a surprise he wanted to change feeding points after the date with James and I. Thinking on it, he might want to feed on my neck just to leave the puncture wounds and let James think I was with another man, with Josef. Seething with anger at the thought of Josef wanting to get back at James and I, my hand shot out to slap him. He stopped me before anything happened and gripped my wrist in his vise-like grip. To others, the hold might have been painful but I was experienced in fights, especially with a younger sister; a sister who could now throw me across the room with only her index finger.

"Please, I don't have the energy to fight you tonight, if I could, you'd be asked to fix the book shelves after I threw you against them," he stated matter-of-factly as I was pulled by my wrist chest to chest against him. He looked on edge and I wondered how much non-fat soy vegan blood as he told Mick, Beth, and I several times on occasion, how much packaged blood he consumed.

That betraying stomach of mine flip-flopped and my even double-crossing heard bounced around in my chest cavity before it doing the mambo at the feel of Josef pressed closed against me. "And ruin the cataloguing you have made with the books if you threw me at them, Josef?," I teased as I tried to diffuse the situation. When a vampire was in need of blood, he or she was capable of anything for a few drops of blood. She heard from Mick about certain vampires who preyed on children because of the blood untainted by chemicals and the lifestyle choices in adults.

It is so on, four words, Josef said in the fight against a plastic surgeon vampire and his goonies with Mick. Inwardly, I smiled at his feat to use the words in his speech to keep himself with the twenty-first century. Facially and physically he was twenty-eight at the most but the information he revealed to me, what little he ever did, he was four hundred and so many years old. His age was not showing at the moment as his lips twitched towards my comment.

Josef was openly amused by my words but he had not yet released his hold on me. Instead, he pressed me closer as a man and a woman, man/man, woman/woman, and so forth could be against one another. I stared into his eyes and wondered what he was thinking. What he was trying to find in my own eyes. I sensed rather than felt his other hand stroke my curls away from my neck. Those fingertips of his slid against my throat and we both knew he saw the pulse jump at his touch.

Breath hitched and I was teetered on the edge of what I had no clue I might fall into. One thing I wanted most of all was the ability to pull away and ran as fast as I could back to the driver waiting outside to take me back. However, my legs and brain were not speaking to one another and I wondered if my heart had a hand in it. Damn my heart and how it thought it knew better than my brain.

"What are you doing?," I asked as it came out more huskier than I wanted. A slow smile started at the corners of his mouth and he leaned his face close to mine. His nose was against my own and I smelled the musky scent of his mixed in with the heather cologne he wore. In agony, I waited for his answer.

"Showing you the inside of my mouth," he whispered against my lips and before I could protest he had shut me up; with his lips pressed against my own. There was no explanation nor was one needed as I wrapped my free arm around his back and opened my mouth. With our tongues, we teased and fought for control and at one point our teeth clinked against one another.

Soon, he released my wrist and though I should have pushed him away and slapped him for his come-ons, instead, I wrapped both of my arms now around his back. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I wrapped myself around him as if he were a life saver on the Titanic. Pathetic, but with my eyes closed, I imagined we were a couple, a normal thing we were doing in his private library. As a couple should, I nipped his lower lip, sucked it into my mouth, and my fingers threaded through his hair and slightly tugged. A growl vibrated through his throat and his hands slid over the curves of my body before Josef stopped at my lower back and pressed me even closer to him. I was surprised and elated in the feel of his lower body responding heavily and hungrily for me. Made me blush a bit as well.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and see the reactions on his face. Josef's eyes were glazed over with lust and there was even a hint of need in them. Though it could have been myself imagining it was need and not the hunger for blood. What changed, I wondered to myself. Niggles of doubt started in the back of head and grabbed a hold of my mind. Whatever this was, it could not happen. Would not happen if I wanted to keep my heart in one piece and not at Josef's feet where I guessed every woman he bedded where as well. No way in hell would I become another notch on his damn bed post.

I knew what I had to do and I pulled my lips away in preparation for it. If Josef's lips were not against my own then I could go through with the task at hand. This was the only way to keep any semblance of a friendship, if we had one, ruined over a night of pleasure. One night of pleasure, but one night where once he realized what happened, I would be out on my ass in the street, clutching my underwear to chest. Without a job, without a friend, and without Josef.

He moved in kiss me again but I placed a hand to his chest and shook my head. What I needed outweighed the want of him, naked, and wanton for me. "What about Sarah?," I questioned and knew what I had asked would do for him. To him, I could have slapped him over and over and it might have equaled the effect of the question I laid for him to answer.

With a savage growl, he pushed me away. I swayed on my feet but held down my ground. He needed to know what he was about to do. I wanted him to try and explain the love he had for Sara. Tell me anything which might push me further away at the thought of wanting him. Anything to prove his and my actions over one another was more than a fleshie and vampire relationship should be. Tell me he cared for me or even wanted more than a blood exchange but a relationship. Damn it, my mind and heart were confused over what I needed and wanted.

"Get out," he whispered in a tone I never heard him speak in. Josef's face turned away and I inched a few inches closer to him.

"Josef, what is this between us?," I asked and stopped when he held out a hand to keep me at a distance.

"Get out, now," he said once again, his face turning slowly towards me. His eyes were now a different color, white and silver, the look of a vampire. Whether he was ready to fight or something else, I waited.

"Tell me what I am to you, Josef."

"You want to know what you are?," he asked as he chuckled beneath his breath.

"Yes, tell me, Josef."

With the speed he acquired as a vampire, he pressed me against the wall. This time, he wanted nothing of pleasure as he invaded my personal space. "You are nothing more than a blood donation with a pair of legs, nothing more, nothing less. As of now, you are also a disposable blood donation. You are fired."

Josef could have slapped me around and thrown me against his bookshelves but it could not compare to what I felt at this moment. I could not believe it and he noticed the expression on my face. Once more, he repeated the words, this time, with more force and anger injected into every syllable and I wanted to tell him he was wrong. Wanted him to know he was joking and needed a drink but nothing I could say would change his mind. After I let out the Sara box, the anger and hurt was clearly set in his eyes and for once, I could not blame him for this debacle. I opened my big mouth and now I was left with nothing.

Solemnly, he walked away as if this was a daily occurrence for him. Slowly, it took a few seconds before my knees started to knock against each other, hands with unsteady fingers grabbed my purse where I had dropped it by the chair, and I headed towards the library door. I had to tell myself over and over in my head, I would not retch, cry, or beg for forgiveness. As I placed my hand on the doorknob, about to twist it, Josef spoke up. "If you ever need anything, call me."

Hah. What a riot, I thought to myself. Opening the door, I looked back at him and everything I liked/disliked about him. "You can take your words and shove it where the damn sun does not ever shine, Josef. Goodbye." I closed the door behind me and I thought I heard him say, 'I'm sorry', but it must have been my imagination. My peace was said and I all I wanted was head back home, snuggle up with Phantom, and forget this night ever happen.

* * *

As soon as he heard the private car drive away, only then, did he let out a fury of curses and oaths. He threw his library phone across the room, smashing it in the process, rubbed his hands over his face, and tried to make sense of these last few hours. "What the hell is happening," he muttered towards himself and the empty room. What have I done, he thought to himself.

Images and scents bombarded him as he settled back in his chair. He tried to rub them out through his temple with his fingertips but the visions and smells stayed. Marguerite's image repeated itself in his mind's eye. The vision of her writhing in pleasure against his body haunted him as he tried to explain the reason for his temporary insanity. Surely, he must have been out of his mind to grab and kiss her in that manner. "'Show you in the inside of my mouth', God, that is sad," he whispered as he remembered the words he used before he kissed her.

Sara, his dear Sara. Why did Marguerite bring her up? Was she trying to anger him and piss him off? Well, after what he said to her, he was not expecting her to answer them anytime soon. When she asked him what was happening between them and what she was to him, he was stunned. He did not show it but when asked, he had no clue how to go about answering it. Instead, he had condemned her as any other blood donation he could get with a snap of his fingers and then he fired her. Part of him was glad she was gone and another part wanted to kick himself in the ass for firing her. That and he had not gotten his damn blood!

"Maybe Mick will help me out," he muttered as he vaulted himself out of the chair, the library, and headed to find the peace he desperately needed.

* * *

"Not going to cry, I am not going to cry, I am definitely not going to cry," I muttered to myself over and over on the drive back to my apartment. The driver had not said a word but his eyes told me he was sympathized with me. He had been fired but rehired, but this time, Josef would not do the same for me. Besides, it was better this way. Better for the both of us and much better that I never had to worry about him interfering in my life again. However, I was still friends with Mick and Beth, which meant I would have to come into contact with Josef, but I would keep my cool. I had to if I needed to get on with the debacle which plagued tonight.

Clenching and unclenching my fists helped to stop the need to smash my hands through the windows and anything else I could break. Never had I been this upset and I tried meditation to help relieve it. Closing my eyes, I started a few breathing exercises and the whole, 'Wuzzah', helped but I changed it to, 'Chocolate', and it immediately calmed me down. In fact, I was ready to have a few Godiva's and was happy to see the street I lived on was only two blocks away.

"Going to have chocolate, cannot wait to have chocolate, want chocolate now," I said in a sing-song voice, somehow forgetting the fact I was fired. Between men and chocolate, chocolate seemed to out win because it never broke my heart unless it melted or I was out, while men walked out when the going got tough. The only men who stayed around were the men in my family, although, all the men in the family were about togetherness and watching one another's back. Helped to have a semi-traditional Mexican-American family like mine, even though, it was not as eventful as the movies made Mexican families out to be.

On that note, I pulled out my cell phone and verified with Iris our lunch and let her know I was not on Josef's payroll anymore. She asked if I was pulling her leg and could not believe Josef would fire me. "Why of course I am lying about the fact he told me I was merely a blood bag with a pair of legs and that I was fired. I am merely trying to shock you, lovely." In response, she gave me a few expletive words and asked if I needed comfort. I declined and we talked a few more minutes before she had to head off to play another gig.

When the driver slowed the car down, I pulled myself out of my thoughts of chocolate long enough to thank him. "Thanks and here," I replied and grabbed a twenty from my purse. He tried to push it away, but I placed it into his hand and closed it. Patting him on the shoulder, I thanked him one last time as I headed down the driveway to my place. The night in Los Angeles was warm, the hint of summer getting closer.

Hearing the car pull away, I smiled, and looked towards the sky. The idea came of taking a vacation out of the city, get away, and relax on a nice beach while Phantom chased sea gulls. Heading up the steps towards Phantom and apartment, my purse started to hum out Gwen Stefani's, 'Hollaback Girl', and knew it was Beth. There was a contemplation of whether to answer the phone or not but found answering the phone was better than having Beth head over the apartment. Word must have gone out fast about my now unemployment if Josef called Mick to let him know first.

"Hey, Beth," I stated as I stopped at the front door, a hand out and ready to place the key in the door knob.

"I heard what happened."

"Only took twenty minutes for news to spread. Go Josef," I muttered, a blip of a splitting headache starting in the back of my eyes. Great, just, what I needed when desperately I wanted peace, chocolate, my bed, and Phantom wallowing with me. When I turned the key in the door knob, I locked the door. Strange, I thought.

"This doesn't change plans for your birthday, does it?," Beth asked.

My birthday was in less than a few days and Beth planned a 'surprise' party for me. The thing with surprise parties were I was a curious female and found out easily with overhearing conversations. I caught Beth on the phone with Mick, making plans to talk to the landlord of the apartment complex and while Beth ushered me to pick out a present, Mick would get the place ready for the party. Later, I revealed to her I knew of the party and I would pretend to be shocked and happy when my family and close friends surprised me at the apartment.

"I don't know, but, Beth, I think there is someone in my house. I can hear Phantom, barking from far away," I whispered into my phone as I listened for noises inside.

"Call the cops but don't go inside."

"You call the cops, I have my pepper spray, but I need to get to Phantom."

No hesitation in risking my life for Phantom. Sounds a bit too much but Phantom was a member of the De La Cruz clan. If anything happened to him, well, much of the time no thoughts headed in that arena.

"Marguerite, stop," Beth said over the line but I hung up on her.

* * *

Immediately, on the other side of the line, Beth looked over towards Mick, who had started to fix himself a glass of blood and a bagel for her. Standing up, she walked into the kitchen and voiced, "Mick, Marguerite is in trouble."

* * *

Once I pulled out my pepper spray, trigger finger held over the button, I opened the door and entered. The room was dark saved and silent saved for Phantom's barks in my bedroom. Looking in several directions, I turned on the light in the living room, after fumbling to find it next to the closed door. Nothing was missing from my apartment as far as I could see while I made my way to Phantom. Another strange thing, I thought to myself when I made it to my bedroom.

"Phantom," I whispered through the closed door and heard the whining and scratches of his against the wooden door. Before I left to see Josef, the door to my bedroom was opened and now it was closed. There were no ghosts that I knew of inhabiting my apartment. I had to get Phantom out of this place as soon as I opened the door.

Keeping my eyes off of the place around me, I reached for the knob. That was when I heard him.

"Hello Marguerite."

Quickly, I turned in the direction of the voice. His face was masked and eyes covered with black shades, but his smile told me everything I wanted to know. He was here for me and was not about to leave until the task was finished. The glint of the knife in his gloved hand backed up his claim before it soared towards me. I pushed the button on the pepper spray in his direction before I screamed.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and yes, I had to place it on a cliffhanger. Will Marguerite survive or die in the arms of Josef, or even the arms of her murderer? I love the reviews everyone is giving me and even the story alerts. I thrive on reviews and hope to get the next chapter lined up. Enjoy and tell me what you think.


	4. Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty

Title: Taking Chances- Chapter 4: Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty  
Author: Bubukittypuck  
Archived: Here of course, Fictionpress, and my laptop  
Summary: Marguerite's first person perspective on the relationship she has or does not have with Josef. She is fleshie to Josef's donor.  
Rating: It ranges from PG-13 to M later on.  
Pairings: OC/Josef  
Feedback: Review please though do not flame.  
Characters: Josef, Marguerite, Beth, Mick, and any other characters inhabiting Los Angeles.  
Beta's: None  
Author Notes: None for now.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Moonlight or the characters, though I do wish Moonlight does come back. For now, writing fanfics seems to stem the need to hunt down Jason Dohring and bring him back to my bedroom.

* * *

Monitors beeped and nurses came in and out to check her pulse as she laid silently on the bed. Mick, Beth, Iris, and even Josef took seats in the room, all of them, waiting for her to awaken from her state. Each could not believe the appearance of Marguerite in the hospital bed. After examination, doctors concluded she suffered a sprained right ankle, popped her right knee cap out, fractured left wrist, several bruised ribs, bruising around her throat and wrists, cut lower lip, black right eye, and several cuts and scrapes ranging in the need for five stitches to thirty stitches to close them up. For her knee cap, while under anesthesia, her knee cap was popped back in place, cast covered her left wrist and ankle wrapped in bandaged and packed with ice to bring down the swelling.

Marking off the necessary items, the doctor turned to the group. "It is a miracle she fought off the assailant with these injuries," the doctor commented as he left the necessary charts and instructions with the nurses. Once the good doctor left, the nurses closed the door, locked it, and nodded to Josef, before the two went back to monitoring Marguerite's progress.

All four started to speak and over one another.

"What the hell happened?," Iris asked, clearly angry and frustrated at the situation. She wanted to maim, decapitate, and do serious bodily harm to the guy, who tried to take her sister out. If it were not for her man calming her down with a bit of comfort and a few other things, her need to harm would have been high.

"She is going to make it, " Beth commented. God, she could not believe the injuries Marguerite sustained in the fight against the slime ball.

"The guy is dead," Mick stated.

"Damn, I wanted a crack at him," Josef commented.

* * *

_What Mick could piece together, he started to tell the others. After Beth explained as fast as she could about Marguerite being in trouble, he had not wasted time in using his car. He left the keys to the car with Beth to catch up. When he arrived at Marguerite's apartment, the door was opened halfway, and the living room looked as if a bloody tornado whipped through the place. Right away, he noticed the scent of death and prayed it was not Marguerite's. _

_Thankfully, he found where the stench of death came from and it was not a female's. It was the male intruder and his forehead bled deeply from the wound where he later saw a broken cherub statue broken in half. Cherub's face was covered in the blood of the man and the mask was ripped in certain places. Honing his eyes on the uncovered skin, he filed away the features he was able to glance upon._

_"Marguerite!," he called out as he circled around the place, sniffing out her scent. He listened to the sounds around him and heard a dog growling and whining behind a door. Upon closer inspection, Mick saw bloody handprints on the door and smeared over the door knob. Pressing him as close as he could to the door, he heard two heartbeats. The faster one, Phantom's, while the slower but pumping steadily, had to be Marguerite._

_Again, he said, "Marguerite," and waited in hope. _

_"Mick?," came the reply back through the door. The voice was hoarse and wondered if this was Marguerite answering. He asked her to open the door since he did not want to taint the blood and asked if she was injured. Stupid question, he later saw, but at the moment, he had no idea what her injuries were, if she even had any._

_Slowly, the door opened, though Marguerite used her good arm to hold Phantom, who licked away the blood from her faces, and tried to get even closer to her. Her bad arm, the fractured one was holding onto the door knob as blood seeped out of the jagged wound he glanced a few inches above her elbow. She leaned against the door knob, holding her right foot up, wincing every few seconds. _

_"Better late than never," she chuckled as she winced in pain, shushing Phantom as he whined again. Turning her head, she kissed the top of her dog's head, his tail wagging happily, before he went back to whimpering. _

_Mick walked inside and held out his hand to help her get around. She tried to wave him away, asking when the police would arrive. As he tried to answer her, she swayed precariously one side to the other, groaning in sheer agony. The last thing she asked before he caught her in his arms along with her dog was to take Phantom for his daily walk._

* * *

Phantom, at the moment, laid in the hospital room along with the others. Policy at first prevented animals, unless they were seeing eye dogs, to enter the hospital, but Iris stated the dog was family. The nurses and doctor conceded when Josef informed them to let the subject go. Phantom, on the other hand, wagged his tail, impatient, the need to know whether his Marguerite, his alpha-female was well. Even for a dog, he had a sense of when things were fishy and seeing his Mistress in a hospital bed, connected to things he had no clue were, disconcerted him. Plus, no one had taken him for his walk and he was antsy to chase a few cats and even birds.

"Just like Marguerite not to stand outside and wait for the police. She had to walk in with the damn pepper spray," Iris stated, smiling as she shook her head. That was the women in the De La Cruz clan. None ever let a man push them around nor did they play the damsel in distress. Each and every one learned how to use a gun, especially since one of the De La Cruz cousins lived in Compton. The men were happy to see there was strength with everyone but made sure all went well behind the scenes.

"The way the guy died, it took several blows to the head with the cherub," Beth stated as she pulled out copies of the police report, handing it over to Iris, before Josef snatched it out of her hands. Iris sneered but she glanced at the pictures quickly and she was angry she was not at the apartment with Marguerite.

Truly, he wanted the guy to live only to suffer at his hands. "Was he unconscious when the blows were hit or not?," Josef, asked, wringing his hands together as he itched to head over to Marguerite's side and touch her skin.

"The guy was awake, struggling to get the pieces of the broken glass coffee table out of his hands and arms, he is lucky I didn't do more to him," came the reply from the Marguerite in the hospital bed. Everyone turned to look at her, especially Phantom, who barked and wagged his tail furiously.

"Marguerite," replied Iris, rushing to her side.

"You're awake," commented Beth, placing a hand over her mouth, tears coming to her eyes. She was afraid Marguerite could have been killed and regretted not calling her sooner.

"How do you feel?," Mick asked, crossing his arms. He had more news to divulge to the others but had waited until Marguerite awoke before letting the news drop.

Josef, on the other hand, looked through the file, mentally and visually capturing the images and words in his head. Her place was in disarray and the police taped covered entrances to her apartment and every room in the place. Anything considered evidence, including her laptop and camera with the memory card was taken for examination. He glanced in Marguerite's direction, amused to see her eyes on Phantom, waving him over to her.

* * *

_Screams and items were thrown around. Blood spilled and bones were bruised and broken in the fight to survive. She did not want to die. Desperately, she wanted to live and see Phantom slobbering all over her. Have a chance to have her first shot of tequila even though she was not a drinker, unlike the rest of her family. Maybe even have a child if she ever stopped thinking about how the kid could ruin her hips and thighs. _

_Growls and curses were met as he grabbed her around the waist and tried to subdue her to the ground. Earlier, the pepper spray had helped to distract the intruder when he inhaled and the knife ended up cutting her arm, the wound deep and bleeding heavily. When the intruder gasped and coughed, she ran for the front door but grabbed her around the wrist pulling her back. She slipped and hit her left wrist against the wall, cursing as the pain shot up through her arm. _

_"You're not leaving the party. We are getting to the best part," he bit out, as he tried to swipe her with the knife. Using the wrist he held in his grip, she threw her weight into him, the two slamming into the wall. Barks and whines were heard through the bathroom door, Phantom, wanting to be released and help out._

_The knife slipped from his grasp, sliding against the fake mahogany floor, as both struggled to subdue the other. She threw her knees up, satisfaction rolling through her as she hit him where it was the most sensitive for a male. He fell to the side, grasping his crotch, her foot coming down to smash into his stomach. Before she made contact, he took hold of her leg, using it to vault her towards her couch. _

_Air rushed out of her lungs as she made contact with the couch and pushed herself to go over it. If she could get to the kitchen, she had a chance to grab one of the knives in the drawer. She knew before she felt it when her knee popped out of place. Damn, this was not a good time for a childhood injury to flare up at this moment._

_"Just like Marguerite not to stand outside and wait for the police. She had to walk in with the damn pepper spray..."_

_The voice, where was it coming from she turned in a circle. What was going on?_

Slowly, I opened my eyes, and noticed the nurses hovering over me. The second thing I found out was the fact my whole body throbbed in pain, and then it hit me. Events of last night rushed back to me and I realized I had reenacted everything I went through in my dreams. With the exception of the voice berating me for entering into the house, I remembered everything. Anger, pain, frustration, fear, and even the last breath the man took when I clubbed him over the head with the cherub. After that, what I recalled was hopping towards the bedroom door, blood seeping out of the cuts and wounds on my body, pulling pieces of glass out of my hands, and heading inside the bedroom to console Phantom. Whether I was hallucinating or not towards the end, I felt Mick's presence and his help.

When Josef asked whether the man was awake or not during the cherub blows, I answered the question for them. The group seemed to be in their bubbles, the four of them in a circle, discussing the events. Iris came to my side and I smiled at her sacrifice to be there in the hospital room with me. Summer was approaching and she was booked for various locations and gigs, ones I hoped she had not cancelled on because of me.

When Mick posed the question to my health, I finally took a look at myself. Geez, I was not up to doing the tango in this condition. A cast was on my left arm and I wiggled my fingers within the cast, wincing a bit. Good thing, I wrote with my right hand. There was another cast on my right ankle and ice packs were lined around it. Seemed I had gotten the luck of the draw, ending up in the hospital, then in a body bag, unlike the son of a bitch who tried to put me in one.

Hearing the bark of Phantom, I smiled, turning my head in his direction. He was seated on a visitor's chair, his tail wagging furiously, as I waved him over. No hesitation on Phantom's part as he leaped off the chair and got on his back legs to place his chin on the bed. "That is my guy," I whispered and stroked his ears and under his chin with my good hand. Phantom merely wagged his tail even faster and panted at the pleasure of his Mistress lavishing her attention on him. A mix of Chihuahua/pug mutt background, he was my Napoleon with the complex as well. Never did he back down from a bigger dog and had the role of the King of the Apartment, which was now trashed if I recalled the mayhem the bastard and I caused.

Remembering Mick's question and everyone's eyes on me, including, Josef's, I smiled and glanced at the nurses, waiting for my answer as well. "I feel like I could dance the night away and even do a cabaret dance with the Pussycat Dolls tonight, if I could," I answered, sarcastically. Iris stifled a laugh and shook her head. Mick frowned but a twitch of a smile appeared on his face. Beth, smirked, but there was the notice tear-stained cheeks, and it concerned me. Josef, held a smirk, but never did it reach his eyes. Figured.

"How do you think I feel?," I asked the group, my voice hoarse which gave the impression I was a daily smoker, but I knew better when it came to why my voice sounded gravely. I requested a mirror to be brought to see my face. When I licked my lips, I felt the sting of pain, and knew before the small compact Iris held out in front of me, it was busted. As she held the tiny mirror to my face, I moved my head around to check out the facial damage. Good thing about it, my nose was not broken. Though, I could have gone without the bruises in the shape of the man's hands around my throat, which accounted for the scratchy voice, and the black eye. If I used the make-up, my cousin, Liz, sent for Christmas, it could be covered up nicely.

The nurses were kind enough to comment I was on medication to help minimize the pain and in another day, after held for observation, the chance to discharge from the hospital was an option. Oh, the sooner the better, I thought, already having the itch to walk around and get away from the sanitized and white/grey painted room scheme. After that, both nurses nodded to everyone in the room, most of all to Josef, before leaving me with the people/animal I cared about, came to see as good friends, and one I wished would go away.

My handsome Phantom barked, a sign he wanted to jump on the bed, but needed help. Iris figured out his signal and placed him on the bed. Right away, he started slobbering and snuggling himself into my side. "Wouldn't it be better if he stayed on the floor?," asked Beth, but I shook my head. The dog was family and besides, I wanted my buddy lying next to me. Wonderful, I valued my dog above a real man to comfort me, on the upside, never had to worry about Phantom brushing me off for someone better.

Stretching as much as I could in the bed without pulling at the stitches I soon found over my face and body, I asked my own questions. Who was the son of a bitch who wanted me dead? How the hell did he think to mess with me? If my laptop, were I had all of my school work and project on, trashed, or in good condition? When can I get a good meal which does not involve nasty cardboard food the hospital gives out? The slew of questions were stopped when Iris dug in her bag and pulled out a bag, Pinky's, emblazoned on the bag as she placed it in my lap.

Hunger took over as I tore into the bag and the Coney-style hot dog, along with the chili-cheese fries, and vanilla milkshake. Phantom helped to scarf down the fries, no matter how much everyone tried to get him to stop eating human food, he kept at it, but we made sure to slip in dog food and keep the chocolate and milk away from him. "Thank you, better than I thought it would be and what about?," I started but I did not even need to ask as my sister pulled out a box of chocolates. This was one of the many reasons I loved my sister. She knew my cravings.

While I chowed down as much as I could, since I was tied up to the nine's with IV's and other machines to monitor my blood pressure and vital signs, I looked around at the people in the room. Iris, fabulous as always, wore a red, flapper-inspired dress, with the signature leather jacket given to her by her sire. Not a bad guy, considering he had not split from my sister when she went into her mood swings or angry tirades. Once more, the women in the De La Cruz family were strong, but at times, very emotional women.

Beth snuggled into Mick's side, the two of them watching me chow down on the food. Many times, I wondered if Mick wanted another chance at humanity and have a taste of the succulent, but heart attack inducing delicacies the world had to offer. They were great friends to come to my aid, especially Mick. While I washed down half of the hot dog with a great slurp of vanilla milkshake, I thanked him properly for it.

"Mick, thank you very much. If it was not for you and Beth, I might still be fighting the guy," I commented and smirked, almost ripping the stitches in my lip as I gave them a cat got the mouse grin. Mick shrugged his shoulders but I could see he was glad to see I was safe and alive. Though in his eyes, I saw there was hesitation and concern. Much as I knew, he had news to reveal in a little bit and I readied myself for it. After I thanked my sister for the food, I finally let the presence of Josef entered into my mind.

Slowly, I turned my glance towards Josef. He looked nice, the best word I could come up with without trying to imagine him run over by a car and slapped around for his outburst last night. His tie was pulled slightly out of shape and his hair stood in different directions. Those fingers of his could have been the culprit for his slightly-messed hair. I had nothing to say to him. It was nice of him to be in the room but he fired me and it meant there was no connection anymore. No more fleshie/vampire donation and no way in hell, I was going to be his next pair of legs.

A nod of acknowledgement was thrown in Josef's direction, before I placed my attention back to my questions that still needed answers. "Well, who was the guy who failed to slice and dice me?," I asked, Beth, knowing she had the latest scoop on everything legal and illegal before the other magazines had an inkling of it. As she explained the background on the bastard, I had the innate feeling; Josef kept eyeing me, willing me to look in his direction. It was silly thought and I blamed it on the mixture of drugs in my system.

"The guy who tried to slice and dice Marguerite, as she puts it, was named Deacon O'Douglas. O'Douglas was not a professional hit-man nor was he was affiliated with any known gangs in the Los Angeles area. His criminal record was clean, no parking tickets, no public intoxication, nothing. He could have been the Step ford husband by the way he was described by his co-workers. Worked for small internet corporation based in San Francisco. Thing is, he has residence there, but not here."

I had to hand it to Beth. She knew her stuff and knew it well. Hell, there was no need for the folder, Josef held in his hands, because she knew it by heart. Now, that made a great journalist or a human diary, if anyone ever wanted one. While I laid back in bed and caressed Phantom's mane, I wondered a few things Beth mentioned. "Then why does he end up in my apartment?," I asked, curious to know the answer. Lots of things happened in Los Angeles. Murder. Rape. Shoot outs. Traffic. Various vile things. Though somehow, I saw it as things that were planted on a timeline. Weeks at a time, Los Angeles was safe from harm. Then there were times where everything and anything could go wrong.

Mick stepped in to reveal the answer. Now, that is why he had the look of bearer of bad news. "He is connected with two other murders. I went down to the morgue to check on the O'Douglas' corpse and Guillermo informed me two other corpses came in. Those corpses were Gabriela and Sonja." The silence was deadening save for the hospital equipment beeping every few seconds. I had to take a second to play with Phantom's ears and let the news sink in. Gabriela and Sonja were the back-up fleshies to Josef, same ones who were now lying in the morgue.

Since, Deacon was dead, there was the assumption the murderer for Gabriela and Sonja was found and his killer was where he needed to be. Wrong. "Gabriela and Sonja were both killed last night and it was not the guy who tried to come after you, Marguerite. Both lived forty-five minutes from each other but both were killed within the thirty minutes of one another, at around the same time you were assaulted." This meant, without having to hear the rest of Mick's explanation, there were two other murderers out there. One psycho down, two to go, was how I saw it. The only connection the rest of us saw was the fact Gabriela, Sonja, and I all were fleshies of Josef. In other words, someone was out to piss Josef off. I wondered if Josef even gave two licks about losing his blood donations or he chalked it up to sore luck and find three more.

* * *

Patience was never his best virtue. A miracle, he had managed to stay around in this room without the need to find the two other bastards who murdered his fleshies. Both did not deserve the deaths but when he found the two scoundrels, he would gut them clean and hang them with their own intestines. O'Douglas was lucky he had not died by his hand but he was impressed at the feats Marguerite went through to take him out. The cherub was an ironic piece of defensive equipment.

"Well, since your place is trash, you can stay with my man and me in the King's suite at the Hilton," Iris said.

His ears perked at the conversation of where Marguerite would stay once she was released from the hospital. Curiosity got the better of him and he tuned into it. When he heard her decline her sister's offer, Mick's, and even Beth's, he wondered then where she was to live.

"I will stay with Lixy and her man, their dog's will not get upset with Phantom, since Lixy's female pit bull is about to give birth. The more, the merrier," she replied, as she nuzzled Phantom's neck. Phantom snuggled as close as he could get, noticing the dog was aware of the pain she was in. Animals knew before humans when a person fell ill and when

Lucky bastard, he thought at seeing Phantom getting her attention. Quickly, he shook the thought away and tried to make himself remember the reason she was not his to look after or even call for feedings. When she mentioned her cousin, Lixy, he mentally remembered who she was in the De La Cruz clan and muttered a curse. "Do you want to end up back in the hospital, this time, with gunshot wounds because you will if you stay with your cousin," he commented, shaking his head. Marguerite's cousin, Lixy, short for Lisandra, lived in Compton, a known city for the worst crime.

Finally, her gaze landed on him. He noticed she did not glance in his vicinity, even when he stood next to Mick. She talked solely to Iris, Mick, and Beth, but never to him. Hell, even the dog was spoken to directly, unlike himself. In reality, he could not blame her but he could not have her angry at him for the things she flung at him. However, he showed no leniency towards his driver when he arrived late, but when Marguerite showed the man sympathy and bid him well, he reconsidered the man's employment.

Marguerite's eyes narrowed at him, as much as she could, with one eye blackened from the struggle she endured. Inside of him, there was the urge to walk over and comfort her. Place her head on his shoulder and tell her he would avenge her troubles. Hell, he even called in a favor at the police department to have her laptop and camera taken out of evidence. He knew she needed the laptop more than air if she hoped to get through her classes. Both laptop and camera were stored at his home, in his safe, waiting for him to return them to her.

Right and her injured left hand clenched together into fists, Josef noticed, as he waited for her answer. "I am not going to mooch on other people, plus, I am not going to be cock blocking anybody out of getting some sex," she answered, crossing her arms and smirking at him. Touché, he thought as he realized the situation she did not want to place herself in. Stay with her sister and Iris' fiancée/sire would become antsy with no sexual release. The same went with Mick and Beth, though Mick and Beth would not show their displeasure.

Her sister, Iris, stifled another laugh and shrugged her shoulders. Josef had once been interested in acquiring Marguerite's sister as another notch in his bedpost. Nevertheless, he had not after he met Marguerite at Iris' Christmas party. Those two might have been twins, the way each mimicked the other's body movements and facial expressions. He was sure Iris was the older one, but when both were brought into conversation, Marguerite was the one to let her mind speak. She left everyone in the dust and even saved face when her sister, Iris, started dancing with her sire on the tabletop, gyrating profusely in beat to the music.

The monitor beeped several times as he thought over his options. Without hesitation, he replied, "Then you will stay at my house, with me." Afterwards, his insides stopped raging against him and his mind ceased the thought process of what he was doing in this room. At this moment, he felt ease and hoped she would agree, make her agree, if he had to push the damn hospital bed to his house. He would and could do that.

* * *

Aghast and taken aback were a few of the feelings I felt at Josef's words. Once again, the son of a gun shocked and made me ask him to repeat his words. He did and quickly, turning away from me to look at the closed off windows. All I wanted was a place to stay and my cousin was the best I saw fit. I could talk to my professors about my condition and send my school assignments through email. Other students have done it before and it was not a problem. Besides, my cousin would be happy to have another female in the house that was not walking on four legs. As a result of Lixy's diabetes, where it was next to impossible to bear a child, and not risk one another's health, her dogs were her babies.

There was no way I was about to enter into the lion's den. "You are joking right, Josef? Of course you are. You get itchy if a chick you banged stays too long in your presence," I answered, smirking. Fool me once when he kissed me, shame on me, but there was not more fooling at all. No matter, how even in my condition, I wished for him to walk over and kiss me in front of them all. That must have been the drugs talking. Yes, I was going to blame it on the drugs and go with that.

Josef's expression when he turned to face me was a cross between angry, frustration, and a hint of amusement all rolled into one. It disappeared as fast as it appeared when the others tried to get me to apologize or watch my mouth, as Iris, placed it. She had the mouth of a sailor, though when we got into sparring contests, we both made the sailors looked angelic and homely.

"If the other two find out their comrade is dead, then you need all the protection you can get," Josef replied, walking closer to Phantom and I. Phantom growled, irritated at having another alpha-male near him. Definitely, Josef was an alpha-male. A handsome and mouth-watering piece of work. Dear, god, what was I thinking? Made me feel better but disappointed at the same time when he turned his attention towards the group.

"I don't know," voiced Mick.

"Though Josef might be right. It helps to have Marguerite close to Josef and weed out the assholes. Still cannot believe the guy came after you," my sister stated, her eyes changing from her natural brown to deep bullet silver. Though she traveled to promote her music and we saw each other only twice a month, it was nice for her to want to tear the other dirt balls a new anus.

Funny, how she was my younger sister and fussed more over me than I did on her. That and she was a vampire while I was a human prone to injuries and illness. This brought me back to why I had not chosen to become a vampire like herself. Iris offered it every time she came around and even sent me emails about when I planned on joining her. In the back of my head, I saw she wanted me to join her to have someone to have around when her friends and even the family started to grow old and wither away. The thought of the De La Cruz clan dying off bothered me more than I wanted to think on and I pushed my thoughts away. There were more things to think about, present things, which needed my attention.

Rubbing the side of my head, Phantom settled into my lap, placing his head on my thigh, my own security guard. Now, all I needed was a good man to comfort me and the way things were for me, it might be a while before that happened. Sighing, I knew Iris and what the others might say were right. To stay in Compton with my cousin, no matter how much, I loved her, would make my situation worse. Not only for my health but bring the bastards to my cousin's yard. Last thing I wanted was my family in danger, the ones not able to heal as fast as my sister could.

"A room could be rented under an alias," Beth said.

"Yes, but then there is the trouble of when she leaves for class and comes back," Mick replied.

Snapping my fingers grabbed their attention and I looked to Josef. He looked suave and sophisticated, saved for the messed up hair and tie, but his looks could have been made to model on the catwalk. Once more, I blamed the drugs for the answer I planned to give him. "Fine, I agree to stay in Josef's house," I replied, frowning when I saw him smile before nodding his head. Whether it was the medication in my system, I assumed the smile Josef had was one of pleasure.

"Good choice, now, I'll be back later, with your laptop of course," he answered.

My mood rose when I heard that and I actually smiled at his words. He smiled back and winked. Let me repeat that, winked at me, and it made my heart flutter. The heart fluttering, I chalked it once again to the medication. Mick and Beth shuffled out of the room first, commenting they would be back as well and have a few friends watch over me. Iris came up to hand me another bag, this one held a taser and a Harlequin romance novel. Why, my sister was going after my own heart. A weapon to defend myself, in case, the doctor became too hand's on and a novel to hold my attention while I was held in observation for the night.

When Iris was third to go it left Phantom, Josef, and I in the private hospital room. By now, I felt a bit on edge, the flight-fight response taking over. I wanted to run even attached to IV's and machines whether to him or away from him while on the other hand, I wanted to goad him into an argument and pick a fight. God, I wanted a reprieve from these confliction emotions. Phantom made the first move with a growl towards Josef.

"He has his shots, correct?," he asked as he sat down in the seat previously used by Phantom. The way he looked at me was unsettling. His eyes stared me down and I stared right back. We even started our own staring contests. He won of course because my black eye started to throb in pain. In the blink of an eye, he was at my bedside, hand outstretched to...do what? Smack me? Caress me? Poke my eye and cause more pain? What?

Moving away from his hand only worked if I had more room to move around in especially when the bed was only twin-sized. Josef continued to reach forward and I held my breath. Merely, he pushed a strand of curl from my forehead. "Wasn't going to strike you, unless you suddenly found yourself to be a masochist, then I might be of some service," he teased. Damn him. Slowly, he was chipping away the thoughts I had of him. The ones where he is, was, is, I don't know a scoundrel cloaked in the skin of a man that I would adore and worship if given the change. Nevertheless, I was not about to let him get over the wall I built up.

"Oh, but I thought you were the one who liked to be on your hands and knees Paddled and told to bark like a dog," I answered with as much ice I could insert into my voice. If a guy, dressed in all black, could not bring me to my knees, try to best me, and have me beg for mercy, then Josef was a piece of cake. A piece, of moist, succulent, and morsel full...what a minute...this was going to be a lot harder than it looked. Lots more since I was about to be his houseguest until the other men were brought to trial. Until then, it would be a pleasure as much as a pain to see what kind of roommate Josef could be.

* * *

There we go ladies and gentleman, the answer has been questioned. Marguerite did not die but survived. Now the better question: Will Josef and her get along as housemates? Or will there be a nice argument to come? Love or war? I love, love the reviews, and it is the sugar I need to jolt me to write faster and better. Thank you to everyone. More reviews are appreciated and no flaming, unless you know me, then go ahead.


	5. New Roommate, New Problems

Title: Taking Chances- Chapter 5: New Roommate, New Problems  
Author: Bubukittypuck  
Archived: Here of course, Fictionpress, and my laptop  
Summary: Marguerite's first person perspective on the relationship she has or does not have with Josef. She is fleshie to Josef's donor.  
Rating: It ranges from PG-13 to M later on.  
Pairings: OC/Josef  
Feedback: Review please though do not flame.  
Characters: Josef, Marguerite, Beth, Mick, and any other characters inhabiting Los Angeles.  
Beta's: None  
Author Notes: I was not really happy with this chapter. I tried to stay true to Josef's mannerism and characterization though it was difficult to keep this chapter nice and meaty, but leave more for later.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Moonlight or the characters, though I do wish Moonlight does come back. For now, writing fanfics seems to stem the need to hunt down Jason Dohring and bring him back to my bedroom. I do not own Hostel and I respect Eli Roth. If I ever met him in person, I would ask him to put me in his next movies, whether I am the one being killed or the one to kill. He is a genius and I adore him.

* * *

"The doctor recommended lots of liquids and bed rest. Also, he mentioned for you to ice the ankle and keep it elevated," Josef commented as he helped me into the house. After spending a night in observation, I was only too glad to breathe in air that was not sanitized up the yahoo. Once I was released, I was given one crutch, not two, to help me get around while my knee cap and ankle worked itself into better condition. On top of that I was given a prescription to help relieve the pain but chocolate was my pain reliever and I was wary of becoming pill-popper's I knew a few classmates of mine were. At least, Josef was kind enough; no scratch that, machismo enough in escorting me from the hospital to his house in the hills.

Iris, Mick, and Beth, along with Josef came to visit me on the day I was released from the hospital. Although, Iris, cut her visit five minutes after she arrived. Her fiancée called for a little tete-a-tete and I let my sister head off to her man. Wow, those two were bunny rabbits and one point, I wondered if two vampires could make a baby. A question I had not asked anyone, even my own sister about. I heard a vampire and a human were possible in making babies but no one in the community talked or even hinted at the possibility of it. Besides, I bet it made everyone uneasy if a vampan, the creation of vampire/human came out to be like the Blade vampire in the Blade series. However, Wesley Snipes looked fine as hell in the movie.

Mick and Beth came with a change of clothes for me. Discretion was given and I changed into pajama bottoms with pink duckies on them and a long-sleeved t-shirt with the words, 'Jose Jalapeño on a Stick' to cover up the bruises and cuts I obtained. Slippers on my feet and even my favorite pair of black sunglasses helped in hiding the fact I was attacked. In Los Angeles, it was only natural.

What was more natural but a first for me was photographed by paparazzi as I exited out of the hospital. Someone must have thought I was a celebrity feigning exhaustion and wanted the first pictures of it before sold off to the highest bidder. I smiled and even waved at them, even hearing them call out for Salma Hayek. Ha, that was a riot. Though Josef and the others did not see it as funny. Josef merely pushed the cameras away and placed a hand over his face to keep his anonymity. There was no anonymity for this man, especially, one who ruled over Los Angeles. One hour, maybe less, photographs of myself would be on the internet and every other place, though I prayed the other two killers did not watch television. Unlikely, but it was worth a shot.

Josef came during my observation, no rules applied to him, and brought along my laptop. At least I was grateful for that. Not only was my birthday looming closer than ever but I had finals' rearing its ugly head. "Thank you," I whispered as he escorted me into the guest room he had set up for me. It was a hallway down from his bedroom/freezer and he asked if there were certain things I would like in the room. Never did I want to impose but since he acted as if he wanted to make sure my stay was worth it, I asked for a television, a slew of horror movies, boxes of romance and paranormal novels, and chocolate. I swore I saw him smile when I asked for those items. Maybe, he assumed I wanted the room painted in bright pink with teddy bears and bubble gum pop music blaring in the room, even a pony if I grew tired of hobbling around on a crutch. However, Josef smiled because he knew I loathed those types of things. We both were bibliophiles, him more than I, for the several centuries he had over me to collect texts and original novels.

When my bottom hit the queen-sized bed, the comforter cool against my pajama pants, I was ready to take a nap. Nevertheless, Josef's presence in the room kept me from heading into dreamland. I only hoped when I slept the memories of the murder-attempt on my life stopped and I could obtain a full night of sleep. During my stay at the hospital, I barely slept a good five hours' before awakened to have several more assessments on my recovery. There was a moment as the good doctor asked me to stare at his light pointer and follow the direction of it, did I react and ask him to shove the pointer in his rectum. He merely frowned and wrote down a few notes on the chart. I had a chuckle even now when I thought about it.

"What made you smile? Could it be perhaps the pound of chocolate lying on the dresser next to you?," Josef asked as he settled himself on the edge of the bed, thereby forcing me to acknowledge his presence once again. The past few hours we talked when it was necessary and only then the conversation was strained or filtered with heated words. At one point, while he drove us in his Porsche towards his house, the two of us started an argument whether over whether Phantom should stay with my sister or placed in a dog kennel until I was strong enough to care for him. Phantom voiced his opinion by barking in the backseat and rubbing his bottom against the seats.

When I glanced and noticed a whole chocolate cake laid out on a plate, I could have hugged Josef. In fact, I stopped myself from reaching forward and embracing him. Fact was, I would have hugged Josef when he first came to the hospital with the others. In reality, there was no need for him to worry himself or even house me. Though, he was a good guy for doing so and the way he acted towards me showed he was either tolerating my presence or enjoying the fact that he had someone to converse with. Even with his empire, Ferris wheel of private assistants and associates, deep down, somewhere inside of him, he might care for someone other than himself. Sarah, the only female who he truly cared for. Now, he was caring for me, though he looked after me to keep me from ending up in a body bag. There was nothing sexual or territorial about it. Simply, he wanted to find the other men, removed them from his city, and go on his way.

After this, I would go on with my life and he would on with his immortal one. "You want me to have diabetes after this," I teased as I grabbed the plate and searched on the plate for the accompanying fork. Josef beat me to it with pulling out a fork from his inner breast pocket. A fit of laughter overtook me as he speared the top layer of the cake with the fork, giving me the fork I needed to eat the cake. "Thank you," I whispered as I cut a nice chunk of cake and stuffed my mouth with it.

The sensations hit my mouth and I shut my eyes. Sweet chocolate all mighty! I groaned and moaned in sweet pleasure of a cake that soothed my soul and the injuries I held. Intoxication and a euphoric feeling washed over me and I opened my eyes to have another bite. When opened, I realized Josef watched me the entire time. His eyes narrowed and mouth hung open as if he saw a ghost or Marilyn Monroe. For all I know, he could have met and hung around Marilyn Monroe before she met her untimely demise. Chewing on my lower lip, I looked away from his gaze and went back to the cake. Moist and delicious but it made me think of where else I wanted to spread the chocolate on.

Inwardly, I winced in embarrassment and sneaked another glance at him. Josef's mouth was closed but his eyes now held a fire within them. Eyes dilated and his chest rising and falling heavily, the sound his throat made brought back images of a tiger circling its prey. "Uh, Josef thanks for the cake again," I answered, enunciating my words and snapping my fingers in front of him. Doing so helped break the spell he was under. One blink, two blinks, and three blinks of his eyes until he shook his head and stared at me.

Nodding, he stood up and placed his clasped hands in front of himself. Rarely, did I see him take the position of an elderly monk. Reminded me to head down to confession and let the man forgive me for sins. Hopefully, the sin of yearning for a betrothed man such as Josef could be absolved easily. "No problem, since you were not able to get your usual intake of chocolate, I saw it fit to have this dispatched to fulfill it," he answered and smiled at me. Buttoning his jacket, he pulled back the sleeve and checked his watch.

The man never stopped in acquiring more of this city and ruled it with an iron fist. It made my psychology rear its head in decoding his need to be the dominant, the top dog, so to speak. From what I gathered, he was not one to be dependent on anyone and hated being made the victim. Even though I was made the victim in the plot of revenge against Josef, I predicted he took the pain I took within him. The way he dressed showed me more than his words ever could and reminded me of the color meaning when I interviewed for the part of freshie.

I smiled at him, he left, but not without turning back to throw a smile my way and then I was left to my own devices. The remote to my left and Phantom having kept himself quiet on the floor, I called to him. Phantom came and snuggled next to me on the bed and we started to watch Hostel.

* * *

Closing the door behind him, he gritted his teeth. What a fool he was. Back there in the room, he had the compulsion to leap at her and attack her mouth with his own. Even the image of their own teeth and tongue against one another, locked in a battle to draw the other's breath into their lungs made his knees shake. Never did his knees shake. Even when he was running from a mob with pitchforks where his knees shaking. Now, he felt his skin tighten over him when the sweet and seductive picture of Marguerite with her eyes closed, moaning and groaning, over a damn chocolate cake came to him. Desperately, he wished he was the morsel of cake slipped between Marguerite's lips.

He pushed himself away from the door and headed towards his private study. Since the incident with Marguerite and her dead assailant, he had taken precautions with his work and even her. Strings and more favors were pulled to have her home cleaned up and secured with Logan Griffen's assistance in the form of a high-tech alarm system. "What am I doing?," he asked himself as he settled into his leather chair and powered up his computer.

Any other time, he would have shoved her off to her cousin in Compton. At least, he would not have to worry about her being in harm's way with the fact her cousin owned several guns and licensed to shoot. However, a part of him hated the thought of her far away from him. In another city, where he could not even get to her if the sons of bitches tried another shot at her. Somehow, he was slowly seeing her as something more than a freshie. He no clue what it was and scared the living and the night life out of him.

Typing in the several sets of passwords encrypted onto his computer, he entered into the main frame and started to get to work. He needed his mind focused on his growing empire and if his thoughts kept running towards Marguerite in the bedroom, watching horror movies, and orgasming over chocolate, he was never going to get anywhere.

* * *

Winces and empathetic pains shot through my body as I watched one of the actors' character's have his fingers sliced off in Hostel. There was a point; I covered Phantom's eyes to protect him of the onslaught of blood and gore towards the last twenty-five minutes of the movie. In the beginning, I had to fast-forward the sexual scenes. Never was I afraid of sex and the conversations attached to it but the last few days', I had thought about Josef and I reenacting those scenes, and I blushed beneath the collar.

Several more minutes into the movie and the itch started up again. With the cast on my arm, the last few hours, I had tried to keep myself from shoving a pencil down the cast and relieving the itch. A few more seconds and the itch would go away, I kept repeating over in my head. The seconds went by and like the mantra I said, it disappeared. "This is going to suck, Phantom," I whispered and stroked Phantom behind the ears, receiving a bark and a wave of his tail.

Tomorrow, I met with my Professor's to finalize and secure the dates and times I could either take the finals online or in person. Josef and the others pushed the choice of online finals and even though I should have agreed, I wanted the last few days of the classes I had to memorialize the friends I made in class with a little get together. Doubt reigned whether Josef would agree to leave me to my own devices if I went to a pub or a diner with my classmates. Instead, he might even suggest I wore a tracking ankle bracelet or a chip inserted beneath my skin like a dog.

As I stroked the back of my neck, I thanked the fact I had no fear in backpacking even with Hostel and Hostel II to scare the bejezuz out of other people. Now, if it is was about a world where no one was able to show emotions like Christian Bale's movie, Equilibrium, I was screwed. Before the De La Cruz family split up to start in new places everyone was close. Nothing was hidden no matter how much some of us tried. Even my mother had people around my birth city, who called in to let her know if I attended school as I said I was or skipped it in favor of the mall. Come on, I am not stupid enough to throw away education for a new pair of jeans. Good thing, I missed the skinny jeans craze because I would have looked like an upside down triangle and not a good-looking triangle at that.

Tingles started in the back of my head, a sign I had forgotten something. A snap of my fingers and I remembered it. Missed calls to Sasha and James and I needed to fix it before their feelings were hurt. Plus, the call to Sasha and James was long overdue and needed. James, I guessed might have called the house to check whether I lived through the sibling dinner or called for another date. With Sasha, I knew she called and wanted the information on the date with James. Both were good people and I searched the room with my eyes in locating a phone. A frown crossed my lips when I realized there was no phone in the room. Interesting, considering, Josef never was without his phone in his pocket.

Like me, I had to have my phone with me at all times. Living in the De La Cruz clan, there was bound to be injuries and lovers' quarrel and most of the time, I was the one called for advice or a shoulder to cry on. In fact, I enjoyed the time I helped family members and parlayed it into pushing for a major in psychology. I wanted to help others with relationship problems and even bring together couples who felt the love fizzled out of their marriage. Just thinking about it made me forget the situation I was in.

"Let's find a phone around here," I whispered to Phantom as I paused the movie. There was about fifteen minutes left in the movie and though I wanted to see whether Paxton made the grand escape or not, I needed to make calls. When I reached over and grabbed my crutch, Phantom whined and moaned. Damn, he needed his bathroom and walk break. The way he eyed the carpet, there was a bit of time left before Phantom went and used the expensive carpet for his own toilet. For now, the search for a phone would wait.

* * *

"Josef, this place is a damn labyrinth. Are you trying to be the 2008 version of Jareth the Goblin King or do you enjoy confusing the hell out of your guests?," I asked an hour later after I returned with Phantom at my heel. Though it was mid-afternoon, Josef needed his cold sleep and never received it when he came to pick me up from the hospital. Anytime, he could get in his freezer might help the little looks he kept throwing my way. Either he liked to stare down everyone he knew or he enjoyed to when it came to me. I hoped for the latter though he might be the former.

Settling in his spacious living room, Phantom whining when he could not jump on the couch because he wondered whether he would get into trouble or not, he stayed on the floor. However, I knew his bones were acting up and he needed his medicine. This old Chiapug was about to hit his eleventh year on my birthday and the average age for a Chihuahua/pug held between 15-18 years. As long, the son of a gun stayed alive long enough to see me graduate, even if he was a dog, made my heart cinch in love. The line about dogs being man's best friend needed revising. In truth, dogs were women's best friends hands down.

Tonight, Josef removed the midnight black Armani jacket he wore when he came for me. The sleeves of his long-sleeve shirts were folded at his elbows and cup of blood was held in his right hand. Hmm, I could guess the blood came from a bag and not a vein. I would have heard if a female was around, more so, Phantom would have felt the presence of another woman in the house and told me. A ladies' man, that dog was.

When he leaned against the wall leading to his study down the hallway, he smirked. How many more times was the smirk going to come my way? One more smirk and I would call him on it. Any lady including myself, especially one hopped up on pain medication, could question the reason for his smirks. There were smirks used to hide what was really beneath the mask and Josef was a master for it. Briefly, I wondered what he was hiding and if it involved me by the way he kept eyeing me as if I would dematerialize.

As he took a sip out of his glass, he finally spoke. "I might be, but I doubt I can pull off those crotch-hugging tights like David Bowie could in Labyrinth," he teased back, settling across from me on the couch. Phantom whined against and I shushed him with a pat on his bottom to settle his nerves. Two-alpha males whether it was human or not were not ones to get along in close proximity. It might take time and a few chew toys, but Phantom would have used to sharing a house, a house which belonged to Josef.

While I shook my head, Josef finished last of his blood, winced in disgust, and shook his head. "Dislike having to use the blood bags, rather get it from a warm tap," he commented, settling the wine glass on the coffee table. Wiping his mouth, I laughed as he held a facial expression of disgust and annoyance. If the blood bag were a smell, it could have been vomit and feces to Josef. His hand dug into his pants pocket and pulled out a carton of smokes. Another thing to file away in what made up Josef.

Using the crutch to get me up, he looked up at me in wonder. "I don't like to be around smoke, bad for my asthma and I am still healing, Josef," I explained. He nodded in acknowledgement and placed the cancer stick away. Leaning on the crutch, I looked him over. There were circles under his eyes a sign he needed those hours of deep slumber and top-notch human blood.

Without much asking or even suggestion coming out of Josef's lips, I sat down next to him. "Here," I whispered, pulling back the sleeve of my t-shirt, I held out my wrist to him. The bruises of the struggle were still there but it was healing nicely. Josef stared at me openly and tried to push away the outstretched hand. He needed his drink and I was not going to let him head to bed without a good taste of blood.

"No, I am good."

"No, you need it."

"No, I don't."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes times infinity and I am not going to give in," I answered. It was childish, I know, but when things heated and he had a gleam in his eyes, I knew he was going to try and pull a fast one on me. The signs were there. Overuse of his eyes into my own and his lips twitching in the need to reveal his fangs. He would try to scare me but when he could not at the interview, now was a waste of time. Wrist brushed against his chin and I held his stare, smiling at him.

Taking a hold of my hand, he stroked and brushed his fingertips against the pulse in my wrist. The bend in my arm was no use to the both of us after the whole nursing staff poked me over and over in search to find a vein. I was unlucky in the fact my veins were hard to locate even when the skin on the back of my hands and the bend in my arms were paler and stretched further than the rest of me. Mortification seized me when the nurses even tried my behind to find a vein and found there were two veins to inject the pain medication. In the end, veins were found in the crook of my elbows but even now, I was glad Mick, Beth, Iris, or Josef never knew about the bottom situation.

Josef leaned down and unexpectedly kissed the pulse point of my wrist. When he looked one last time up at me, he smiled sweetly, before opening his mouth, and latched his teeth on my wrist. There was a slight wince on my side but I relaxed when the euphoria started to hit. When I was employed as his freshie, whenever I was needed for a feeding, I always ended up on a nice high. Not a drug-induced high but the kind I received from eating loads of chocolate. Whimpering in pleasure, I laid back against the cushions and closed my eyes. Phantom's whines and the sounds of Josef' suckling added to my own breathing.

Slowly, thoughts filtered through the little brick wall I had of placed to keep away x-rated images. In creeped the picture of Josef and I on the couch, nuzzling and cuddling against one another, and it brought a smile to my face. Hands sliding against skin and clothes in search to remove the offending outfits and reaching naked skin. Once again, I needed to get a grip on reality. Opening my eyes and break the spell over my hazy thoughts, I brought myself back to the present.

"Thanks," he whispered as he pulled his mouth away. His lips were tinted red by my blood but there was color in his cheeks and a relaxation in the form of his bedroom eyes. God, when have I ever thought his eyes in that manner, I asked myself. Maybe it was time for the long needed bath of mine.

As I stood up, Josef stood up as well. I blinked a few times and cocked my head to the side. "What's up?," I asked as I staunched the slight bleeding of my wrist with the bottom of my t-shirt. Easily, I could get the stain out with a bit of soap and water once I returned back to the guest room. The problem was Josef kept looking at me as I held the bottom of my t-shirt against my wrist. Rolling my hand in a circle to motion him to continue, I waited impatiently.

* * *

What was he going to say? Damn, when she had stood up and started to take her bid to leave, he wanted her to stick around a little bit longer. He knew sleep outweighed a bit of time in her company, but inside his emotions and thoughts were on stealing a few more minutes with her. Soon, he would need a shrink to help him break down the emotions and the images of Marguerite. Whatever was going on, he did not like it one bit. He hated not having his feelings under control. Hell, he was known as a man to keep his emotions shut down and tied up whenever the shit hit the fan.

Now, he felt strangled and the need to mark Marguerite as his own started in the back of his head. No clue where he thought about the comment but his brain took a hold and would not let it slip out of its fingers. Those tiny fingers in his brain gripped even tighter when he tasted her blood against his tongue. Her blood tasted of the sweet chocolate cake she had consumed and the sugary substance held in her veins.

Glancing upon her face, he saw her face was slightly pale and realized he must have taken too much from her. Upon trying to apologize for the mishap, she held her hand out in placate to stop his words and an argument he felt could start from his words.

"Don't worry about it, I am fine, but I need to give Phantom a bath. He smells like wet dog, well, as a dirty dog could get," she answered and smiled as she petted Phantom. Phantom's ears perked and his tail wagged, trying to get everyone's attention on him. Josef had to hand it to the dog in doing all it could to have Marguerite's attention solely on him. Inner alpha-male made him want to throw the dog in another room and hog her attention for himself.

For that reason, he should have let her go on her way. Instead, he asked if he she needed help in bathing the mutt. Any other person, if asked to bathe their flea-ridden animal in his sunken tub, he would have laughed in their face. Literally. She turned her smile towards him and his heart squeezed painfully in his chest. The last time he felt his heart do that was with...Sarah. What was happening to him, he wondered as he walked with Marguerite back to her guest room.

To break down the feelings and emotions he had for Marguerite was too complicated for him to begin with. But he had to if he wanted to figure out why Marguerite held him in her grip. A grip, he feared he never wanted freedom from.

* * *

Thanks for the reviews everyone. I appreciate being corrected on the freshie thing. I apologize for using fleshie instead of freshie to indicate the status of human blood donors to the vampires. Though this chapter, I was a bit disappointed with it. I don't know, it could be because I wanted to do more with it but I will in the next chapter that comes up. Sorry for the slow update. Busy with gearing up for my college summer session and patching up a friendship with a friend I care for very much. Reviews help fuel me more than chocolate, well, almost. Haha.


	6. Squeaky Clean, Or So I Think

Title: Taking Chances- Chapter 6: Squeaky Clean, Or So I Think  
Author: Bubukittypuck  
Archived: Here of course, Fictionpress, and my laptop  
Summary: Marguerite's first person perspective on the relationship she has or does not have with Josef. She is fleshie to Josef's donor.  
Rating: It ranges from PG-13 to M later on.  
Pairings: OC/Josef  
Feedback: Review please though do not flame.  
Characters: Josef, Marguerite, Beth, Mick, and any other characters inhabiting Los Angeles.  
Beta's: None  
Disclaimer: I don't own Moonlight or the characters, though I do wish Moonlight does come back. For now, writing fanfics seems to stem the need to hunt down Jason Dohring and bring him back to my bedroom. I do not own the right to Nair though I wish the company could make it less sticky and more perfumy. Plus Saran Wrap is not a patent I hold but it does came in handy when I need to cover up a dish and send it off on its way. I do not own Hostel and I respect Eli Roth. If I ever met him in person, I would ask him to put me in his next movies, whether I am the one being killed or the one to kill. He is a genius and I adore him.

* * *

Whines and whimpers filtered into my ears, Phantom's used methods to try and get out of receiving a bath. One of the worst dogs when it came to baths, I ended up at times in the tub with him or wet in head to toe when he shook his fur out. Tonight, I hoped he would behave himself in Josef's house, most of all, I wanted him not to shake his fur out in the vicinity of Josef and I. By the look in Phantom's eye, I caught him in the thought process of doing so. "Nope, don't even try it," I warned Phantom. He tried to distract me by playing cute and dead on the floor, paws in the air, and head rolled to the side. It might work on my niece Juley in pushing her hand to steal him food off of her dinner plate.

Clicking my tongue at him, he lent up, stood up, and let his ears fall to the side and tail dragged against the floor. I swear he thought he was heading to death row but it was merely a bath. He needed it by the smell of dirt and food permeating from his fur. "Why does he smell like pizza?," Josef asked as he sniffed the air around Phantom. Phantom looked over his shoulder, growled at him, and went back to looking solemn and melancholy.

"Iris must have given him pizza when she came to pick him up last night. Doctor wouldn't let him stay while I was in observation. Guy must have thought Phantom would trip the wires or something, but the things are locked into the wall to prevent that from happening," I explained, heading down the hallway with the one crutch beneath my right arm. I was getting used to the thing and even hoped to do a few tricks to pass the time with it. Even decorate it when the family came over for the birthday bash, Beth was throwing this week.

Three more days. Just three days and legally I could drink to my heart's content. Such joy and yet, I was not interested in the drinking. Instead, I was more piqued at the thought of acing my finals. How could I have a good time at my party if I was bummed over not passing my classes? That would kill the mood for me.

Josef nodded and we ended at the door to my guest room. Phantom tried to find a way out but I blocked him to the door with my crutch pressed softly across him. "He does not like baths does he?," he asked, smirking down at Phantom. The smirk he held was one held for those he enjoyed inflicting unease and pain. With Phantom forced to bathe and soaked to his bones, Josef saw it as payback for the behind wiping Phantom caused in the Porsche.

"Dislikes them like no other brother," I answered.

"Trying to get a part in the next Shaft movie?," he asked, teasing me on my comment.

"I am one bad motha..."

"Shut your mouth," Josef intervened and we both laughed.

A man who appreciated Shaft and did not snub his nose at my movie references made me rethink the possibility of him being a jackass. Though there was the sting of rejection several nights ago but like any woman in the De La Cruz clan, we got over it. We had to in order to make it anywhere in our lives. Why bother groping and moaning over a guy or even a school rejection you when there were better things to do. For example, I could have moped and groaned in agony over Josef pushing me away and firing me, instead, I managed to get it off with chocolate, and then replace it with trying not to die in my apartment with Deacon.

Into the guest bathroom, Josef and I stopped at the sunken tub. Bathroom door was closed and locked behind, further preventing Phantom's escape. The bathroom was painted in a warm blue scheme while the tub, shower, toilet, and sink contrasted in the color white. "I might need help with covering my cast," I asked as I leaned in to start the water pressure. Josef beat me to it and made himself the one to start the bath up.

"Are you trying to saran wrap yourself into mummification?"

"Why of course, then I might grease myself up, cook to a nice broil, and let Phantom have at it with me."

"Weird part about it is you would throw yourself in the oven while saran wrapped. That would mess up the oven and set the house on fire. Go sans the wrap, use olive oil, and better if you let yourself cook to a simmer instead," he teased and winked at me.

This man was trying to get under my skin. Hell, he might even want to burrow beneath and stay there. His eyes told me all I wanted to know. Enjoyment of this banter we had between the two of us lingered in his eyes and even on his mouth. Whether he liked my company or something more, I pushed it far back in my mind. What I needed most was healing and even study my bruised ass off for my finals.

Once the water started to hit the half-way point, I turned as graceful as I could on a crutch, and waved to Phantom. The little sucker covered his eyes with his paws and played the old you-cannot-see-me-if-I-cover-my-eyes routine. That might work on a baby but not on me. Crooking my finger at Phantom, I whistled him over. Josef settled himself on the edge of the sink, hands crossed over his chest and his legs over his ankles. He watched me as I corralled Phantom away from the door towards the side of the tub.

Comments were thrown back and forth as I pushed Phantom into the tub. Water sloshed over the sides and Josef even clicked his tongue in amusement at the sight. He disappeared for a few minutes as I settled Phantom into getting used to the water. There was a love-hate relationship between water and Phantom. When he needed water to refresh him after a bout of running after squirrels, he loved H2O. However, when it came time to clean him up, he loathed and hated water.

Hums and little lullaby's helped to soothe Phantom even when he growled and tried to jump out of the tub. "Back with the Saran Wrap," he answered with the package in tow. Giving a few commands and even food threats to Phantom held him in place as I went to have my cast wrapped up.

A while back, before Iris turned, she broke her left hand after falling in a puddle of ice cream. Long story to explain, but mostly, a food fight ensued, and my sister needed a cast. Doctor mentioned saran wrapping her hand when she bathed in order to prevent water soakage and foul odors that might arise from the soakage. I am a big baby and disliked foul smells, even after living with my father in the house before heading off to college whenever I smelled human gas it reminded me of my father. Most people think of their parents in other ways but his gas brings a smile to my face.

Round and round went the Saran Wrap over my cast and wiggling fingers. Every once in a while, it hurt when I wiggled my middle finger though it was worth to flip the good doctor off when I was released from the hospital. The man merely smiled and shook his head, almost as if it were a daily occurrence to receive the gesture. "Mmm, one more wrapping should do it," I commented as I looked at my cast now covered with Saran Wrap. Oh, if only I had my camera with me but Mick and Beth were doing all they could in getting my stuff out of evidence. I had a sneaking suspicion; a few of the LAPD men had a panty fetish because when Iris came to the hospital with a spare change of clothes, she informed me my panty drawers were empty.

Mortification ensued when I searched the room with Phantom and noticed Josef had placed in a few of the thought to be empty drawers, new bags of Hanes panties, bras, jeans, and t-shirts in my size. Even if Iris helped which was a problem for the fact I had lost a bit of weight around my thighs and stomach, making my old jeans bagged in the areas where I needed to be nice and curvaceous, she would not know my new sizes. This meant Josef had someone in my size warming him between the sheets and used the other female's configurations to purchase the clothes for me or he knew what my body fit into more than I thought he might look at.

A few flexes of my fingers and stretching the bend in left arm, all was ready to bathe Phantom properly. No hissy fits would be made if Phantom drenched me in my pajamas and t-shirt. My feet were bare, toes painted a nice blood red, and I noticed I needed to shave my legs in another day or so. Nair worked well but the smell and the stickiness on my hands made the need for a razorblade much better to work with.

However, Josef dressed in an impeccable suit sans his jackets made me ask him to leave me be with Phantom. "No, I am staying here. Who knows, you might slip and break your other hand and I am not about to have Iris out scream the banshee at my ears again. I am barely starting to get back the hearing in my left ear after she screamed that I needed to have escorted you back myself. I am guessing she knows little about what happened the other night?," he asked as he toed off his wing tipped shoes and removed his socks, throwing them in the hamper by the toilet.

Until now, we were careful not to hedge into territory which concerned the night we almost sexed each other in his private library. Much better to keep the nature of the conversation away while I was grew stronger under his house but he had other ideas in mind. Using the bucket for the toothbrushes, I poured water over Phantom's head and back, his tail tucked beneath his legs and ears back in an attempt to try and win me over with his solemn-looking face.

"Nope, there is no reason to tell her," I commented as I grabbed the various shampoos and conditioners, dumping a few over Phantom's fur. He scooted away but I reached over the edge of the tub and pulled him back. Josef was right there with a hand on my shoulder to hold me from slipping into the tub with Phantom.

"Is that so?," he asked, clearly amused with the scene before him. Myself perched on the edge of the sunken tub, crutch lying on its side to the right of me, t-shirt sleeves pushed back showcasing the light bruises and cuts, left wrist casted and Saran Wrapped, and hair coiled in a semi-messy bun with several strands of curls framed my face.

"It was not that big of a deal."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really?"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, why shouldn't I?," I asked when I looked over my shoulder at him. He stood close by and watched me intently. Too intently if I looked closer at the narrowing of his eyes where beneath his collar, I noticed a red flush started and seeped slowly into his cheeks. I guessed the blood warmed his blood more than necessary. Maybe he even felt the pain medication mixed in with my blood in his veins. Hopefully, he would not fall over and drool himself into oblivion. Even drooling out of the corners of his mouth turned me on.

Damn it, when would I ever learn to keep my hormones under control. I felt twelve again when I started puberty early and for a few months, I thought about how the older men appealed to me. Well, it seemed I still had a love for older men, mostly Josef, who by any human standards was ancient. Though I never voiced his age aloud to him it had to affect him in one way or another. See human friends and foes age and wither as mortal clock ticked-tocked to inevitable death slumber.

Dia de Los Muertos, Day of the Dead, celebrated in my family and in several countries of Latin and Hispanic origin to commemorate the lives people led before passing onto the other side and celebrate the life which still needed to be lived. Sugar skulls, picnics on graves, and areas covered with candles, pictures of the departed, and food lined the hand-made altars to the loved ones. For my Don Pedro, I left him a shot of tequila, his poison of choice and a Mexican bread to be consumed in his own way.

When I turned back to the task at hand, Phantom growled, and I felt the presence of Josef at my back. He sat down on the edge of the tub with me, his hand on my lower back, either to keep me from falling into the tub or something else. The something else was not what I wanted to find out anytime soon. "Good to hear that I have no effect, whatsoever, over you," he whispered into my ear as he removed the cup from my hands, placed it under the water, scooped it up, and splashed it over Phantom's sud-soaked fur. The way Phantom looked at me, removal out of his vicinity was needed.

"Uh, Josef," I whispered as I tried to move away from the edge. He stopped me with his hand pressed even harder against my back. At one point, I thought I felt nails score through my shirt, the whisper of a rip resonating through the room.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?," he asked, his breath brushed against my bruised neck.

Phantom took it upon himself to answer Josef's question. He did so with a snap of his jaws that held the bottom of my t-shirt and tugged me into the tub. What a sight to behold. Half of me was laid soaking in the water, the other half held in upright with Josef's arm wrapped around my chest. His fingertips brushed up against the side of my breast and a flutter of desire shot into my breasts, a tight sensation overtook even my lower insides.

I bit the inside of my cheek which helped squelched the moan wanting to fall off my lips. "Thanks," I whispered on a breath. When he tried to pull me back in, I wanted him to join in on the pool party. What was a party if no one got in the fun whether he knew it or not? Pushing myself against Josef and back, I tried to pull him into the tub with me. Underestimation was on my part when Phantom and I were the only ones in the having a bubble bath.

Still perched on the edge of the tub, Josef shook with laughter. "You should have known better," he commented as he glanced at his manicured nails. The need to have him eat his own words would come soon enough. Even if he had not fallen into the water, Phantom and I would remedy that.

Silent signals went between Phantom and I as we went with our plan. Not much time we gave Josef in preparation for the attack. With as much strength the two of us had Phantom shook out his coat while I splashed and threw water with my good water. Much thanks to the way I fell and Saran Wrap prevented my cast from soaking up the water.

"Got you now," I snickered when I scratched Phantom behind his ear. His tail wagged and I looked around at the water to which was slightly brown. After this, I needed a bath of my own. A smack on Phantom's backside indicated his bath was over and he did another shake of his fur before scurrying out of the tub. He stood by the door, scratching his paws at the closed contraption barring him from jumping on the plush bed.

* * *

Josef spluttered and spat out the water he accidentally caught in his mouth from the splash attack. "Very funny," he answered, wiping the water out of his eyes and face. He should have moved quickly but wanted to see her execution. At first, he guessed Marguerite would merely pout and ignore his presence. However, when the mangy dog and her double-teamed and soaked him to the bone, Josef was impressed. Shirt and pants plastered against his skin outlined every inch of him. Massive sparks of molten, hot pleasure shot into his lower stomach and regions which made his hair stand on end when he saw the heat that lingered in her eyes.

He noticed that she noticed the way his shirt splayed over the ropes of muscle in his stomach and arms. Caught the direction of her eyes head south towards his powerful thighs and where all of the blood in his veins at the moment surged towards. A blush leaked in her cheeks and at that moment Josef wanted to take Marguerite in his arms and learn how hot her cheeks were against his lips. Realization of his thoughts appeared on her face. Frustration ran through him when she turned her attentions towards her casted arm.

The vision of Marguerite stepping out of the bath water rivaled that of the Sandro Botticelli's, 'The Birth of Venus' painting. Strands of her wet curls plastered themselves against her face, rivulets of water hung sensuously off her eyelashes, nose, and lips. Lucky bastards, he commented on the water. With her cast over her chest and the other arm reached out to grab her crutch, he regretted giving up on his love of painting. In this post, Marguerite showcased femininity and eroticism by the way she bent over, bottom stuck out in enticement, hand, even if it was in a case over her bountiful breasts, head cocked to the side as if she wanted to hear all the secret desires a man wished for and he damned himself for not having his phone out and capturing his very own water nymph.

"Like what you see?," she asked as she wobbled out of the tub, squishing sounds made on the tiled floor with her wet bare feet. Oh, he liked what he saw though the only problem was the need to find ways to keep her at arm's length, away from his precious heart. A heart for the longest belonged to Sarah and now, slowly, but surely, he felt it slip away from his former love's fingertips and scurried towards Marguerite open hands.

* * *

Once more, I felt the heat roll right off Josef and made my clothes dry themselves a size too small for my comfort. The glances he made in my direction felt too sensual, too desirable, too much of a man who wanted to brand himself onto his female and mark her for everyone and anyone to view who she belonged to. Myself, I belonged to no one and I planned on it for as long as I could put off the prospect of marriage. Don't get me wrong, I like seeing people who genuinely care and love one another celebrate the intermingling of lives into one both share for the rest of their lives. The thing is, I dislike attending weddings and then the aftermath ensued if and when a marriage heads south. No, I am not stating all marriages end up in divorce but I have noticed in Los Angeles, it is a common thing.

Wedding vows are taken for granted and instead for the "better or worse" bit, it is for the better part of a few months before I dump your ass for someone better kind of vow. When that happens it made me wonder if marriage was worth the hassle. My parents were never married but committed to one another for more than twenty-two years. Hell, my mother became pregnant with me nine months to the day she hooked up with my father. Wow, did that surprise my maternal grandmother. She condemned my pop-pop for not making my mother an honest woman and the heartless manner of conceiving a bastard child. At times, I can be a bit of a female bastard but in actuality, marriage has never been an important matter to my family. As long as you love the person and give it your all a piece of paper cannot define what 'marriage' can and should be.

Seeing Josef in this manner freaked me out a bit. His eyes turned colors to a deep white, the kind he had in a time of feeding. Stepping away from him, he took several steps towards me. Almost as if a tango ensued, I took a hobbled step to the left, Josef went right. I went back and he came forward. One hand reached out to wave him off, the other shot out to take a hold of my hand. Fingers were entwined and both of us started at our clasped hands.

The air grew thin and pregnant with the wants and desired need held between us. A knife could have broken and taken a slice of the sexual and erotic tension that needed a way out. Our eyes met and held, the growling and whining sounds of Phantom filling the master bathroom. Phantom's barks bounced off the walls and grabbed a hold of my ears. The spell held over me was not broken even by Phantom tugging on my soggy pajama pants.

Josef pulled me against him and I gasped. This was not happening, again. After what happened the last time and in this condition, what we were might do was out of the question. As I chewed on my lower lip, he zoned in on the ministration of my pink tongue glide along the lower lip and he growled low in his throat.

"Marguerite," he whispered.

"Yes?," I asked, anticipating lacing my question.

"I hope you get the smell of dog off of you," he answered and with that he pulled himself from me.

A slight shock embedded itself in my heat before embarrassment took over. Touching the back of my neck with my healthy hand, I tried to keep my composure as he walked towards the bathroom door. When he opened the door, Phantom thanked him by way of growl and swing of his tail, and Josef stopped. He looked over his shoulder at me, a look of regret and longing splayed across his features but he quickly regained his cool demeanor. Pasted on his face was the patented smile used on those he wanted at arm's length, nodded towards me, threw a wink, bid me goodnight and left me to my own devices.

I, Marguerite De La Cruz, hereby concluded, Josef was the biggest man-tease/emotional basket case to ever hit the greater Southern California I have ever met. I have met several emotional rollercoaster's but he topped the whole she-bang. One minute, I assumed we were about to have a make-up fest in the bathroom, slick and wet bodies pressed against one another, and the next he told me I needed a bath and pushed me physically and emotionally away.

Shaking my head, I smiled ruefully and went about cleaning up the mess and bathing myself. Dressed in a new set of pajamas, I settled in for the night with Hostel Part: 2, the remainder of the chocolate cake, Phantom on the bed at my side, visualized the fact I would be back in my apartment soon enough and away from a man I wanted in my bed but wanted out of my life. Only tomorrow would tell of what might come to pass, whatever it might be.

* * *

Eh, it is better than the last chapter. Last chapter I knew there needed to be some form of establishing a truce between the two. This one was to further it and make the two feel at ease with one another. What with two guys out to kill the freshie's that made up Josef's meal. Sorry for the late update. Remember when Marguerite spained her ankle, well, I did sprain my ankle this week. I have been hobbling around in pain and tried to get that healed up before doing anything else. Well, here is the next chapter and I love everyone's reviews and appreciate the backgrounds I have made for the other characters. Hope you enjoy it and the next chapter might deal with a bit of Josef more and how he came to be in America. Remember he keeps his history hidden and what lies behind Josef's past? Until next time.


	7. Dance To Beat Of My Heart,Not,That Heart

Title: Taking Chances- Chapter 7: Dance To The Beat Of My Heart, No, Not That Heart!  
Author: Bubukittypuck  
Archived: Here of course, Fictionpress, and my laptop  
Summary: Marguerite's first person perspective on the relationship she has or does not have with Josef. She is freshie to Josef's donor.  
Rating: It ranges from PG-13 to M later on.  
Pairings: OC/Josef  
Feedback: Review please though do not flame.  
Characters: Josef, Marguerite, Beth, Mick, and any other characters inhabiting Los Angeles.  
Beta's: None  
Disclaimer: I don't own Moonlight or the characters, though I do wish Moonlight does come back. For now, writing fanfics seems to stem the need to hunt down Jason Dohring and bring him back to my bedroom. I do not own the right to Nair though I wish the company could make it less sticky and more perfumy. Plus Saran Wrap is not a patent I hold but it does come in handy when I need to cover up a dish and send it off on its way. Chippendale I love but I do not own nor the Coolpix but I wish I owned Ashton Kutcher. I do not own Hostel and I respect Eli Roth. If I ever met him in person, I would ask him to put me in his next movies, whether I am the one being killed or the one to kill. He is a genius and I adore him.

* * *

"Surprise!"

When I had arrived back at Josef's house with him at my side, I assumed only Iris, Mick, Beth, and none other than Josef himself would celebrate my birthday. My parents were still in Mexico as far as I knew traversing the different countries and having a ball. Aunt Bella and Uncle Jesus lived six hours away and with the health problems surrounding my uncle problems arose when it came to traveling. Rest of the De La Cruz clan was settled out around the United States and Mexico. What can I say the lot of us hated to stay in one place for too long. One of the many reasons why I planned on a European back packing trip, the better to move around and never get antsy to head faster from a city I visited too long.

Josef, the sneaky vampire he was flew in every family member who could come without the need of a passport, visa, or risk of parole violation. That left eight out of nine of sisters on my mother's side out of luck and one of my ex's/friend had to stay home. My aunt, Leti, and her family managed to fly out from Florida was the only sister of my mom's to head on over to the festivities.

"Mami! Papi!," I yelled out as I slightly hobbled my way towards the people who conceived me nine months to the day the two became a couple. At least the crutch was no longer needed in aiding me to walk. The swelling had gone down considerably and only a slight irritation remained. I was only too happy to be freed of the damn crutch but I managed a few tricks the past few days to keep me from breaking out of study-mode. All that remained of my injuries was the cast which the good doctor removed and replaced with a red one and various stitches. The black eye was minimized with makeup and the bruises around neck and wrists healed completely. Thought elation of healing up nicely brought a smile to my face, what made a grin break across my whole face were the results of my finals.

In my pocket, I pulled out the printed results and waved it around my head. "3 A's and an A-, " I shouted and was met by whoops and hollers. My parents hugged me more so from my father's who bear-hugged the hell out of me. Standing at a good six-foot two, he towered over the crowd of short people. Yep, our family ranged in height of a short three-feet four inches to my father's height. Hell, even my favorite niece, Juley, six years old stood at four-foot five inches while I was five-five. Talk about me looking like the shortie compared to her. Good thing someone invented high heels.

Between the three of us, we all spoke at once, one over the other. Dad congratulated on my grades and expected next semester's grades to be just as high. Mom happy to hear I survived the vicious attack and even threw in a few shots. Myself on being surprised and elated to have the two at the party. Then the triad of us headed to get acquainted once more with the family.

"Josef," I started and stopped when Iris, Mick, and Beth surrounded and congratulated him for keeping this a secret from me. What a sly devil he was. Another check in the good box went for him as I kissed and hugged the 40+ family and friends who partied in honor of my twenty-first.

* * *

She danced to the beat of the music, obviously making herself a fool in the process, but she was not embarrassed at the actions she committed. This was her party and danced the way she wanted to. Especially since her partner in tow was her six year-old niece, Juley, who shook her bottom to the latest single of a Mexican pop song, Josef had to admit this was a sight to be captured. His hand pushed down on the capture button of his latest Nikon Coolpix S600 he bought for the occasion.

_Three days had gone by. Three days were he saw slowly but surely transformation of the guest room he borrowed to her into her own den. The other night when he asked Marguerite how her studies were going, he discovered loads of books and papers lying around in heaps on the floor, table, bed, and even taped against the walls. Marguerite was in full-study mode even turning down the dinner he prepared for the two of them every night since she stayed in his house. Even though she was able to complete her finals online, she still wanted to visit her Professor's and handed hard copies, as well as, electronically. She voiced the fear of her internet flaking out on her when she needed the most and insisted on turning it in in person as well. There was a certain quality he found in her wanting to get things right that touched a nerve inside of him. _

_He wanted things to go his way and she felt the same way. In fact, he went out of his way and used the time he should have looked after his empire and rested to drive her to her classes and escorted her to the offices. The day she was photographed when she was released from the hospital, calls from Mick, Beth, and Iris came through his private line._

_"Salma Hayek, Josef, really is that what the paparazzi thinks all Mexican people look like?," Iris asked as she laughed over the misnamed photo of her older sister. At least she appreciated the fact Marguerite hammed it up to the photographers instead of try and ignore them. If paparazzi smelled an Achilles heel, all the bastards went for it._

_Mick and Beth were amused but warned Josef to keep Marguerite out of the presses. If word got out about her being with him it might make the other two men gunned themselves towards her even harder. Better to let them think both Deacon and Marguerite perished in the fight for now as the others and Josef searched the identities of the men._

Even now, he grew itchy and agitated at the fact that there were unknown murderers invading his territory and wiping out other freshies. Word got around to the vampire community especially when two more freshies were found murdered in their homes. Each one belonged to certain vampires who were now on his back asking for retribution. It started with him and he made sure the bastards lives were ended by his own hands.

For now, he pushed the murderous thoughts to the back of his mind and enjoyed the takeover of his house by the De La Cruz clan. Especially enjoyed the sway of a certain De La Cruz who looked prime and ready for a bout of sexual foreplay by the way she kept rotating her hips in the long known dance between a male and a female.

"So, I can see you are enjoying the view," Mick muttered beneath his breath as he offered a blended margarita to him. He thanked him for the drink and took a sip, lips pursued as he tasted the full load of alcohol mixed into the drink.

"Guessing the elders put in more than the usual needed to make one of these?"

"Aye, enough to induce a few bouts of ear-splitting karaoke and fights."

"Good thing I hid the weapons and anything breakable."

"Still, anything can be used to bludgeon another."

"Damn it, you're right and stop trying to make me regret having this thing at my house," he muttered as he placed the Margarita down and took a few more shots of the festivities around him.

"Did you bring the ring?," Mick asked as he looked at the group of people which made up Marguerite's world. He had not guessed how many people Josef brought out but he was amazed at the many people who came to celebrate Marguerite's birthday. In fact, he was bit envious to see her friends and family in attendance and celebrating whole-heartedly with her.

"Yes, hopefully it will go off without a hitch," Josef muttered as he moved his camera towards the dance floor. He shot several pictures of Marguerite in the red number, swaying to the music.

"You are going to surprise the hell out of her tonight with it but it is your world if she does not throw something at you."

"You want me to regret this plan don't you?," he asked as he palmed the 'gift in his pocket but he knew it was for something. He ignored Mick and went back to his thoughts.

When Beth needed a venue to host the party where most of De La Cruz clan, including in-laws, and close friends it was at the last moment she asked him. At first, he disagreed it was the worst thing to have her family congregated in a house of an infamous vampire and at the wake of a freshie killing spree. He would need background checks made quickly on the people invited and that was a nightmare it of itself. It was not until Beth pulled out her trump card he gave in. She merely pointed out it was better to have the family under his household where he could make sure nothing went awry if the venue was at a park or a banquet where anyone and everyone could slip in. Along with that, Iris, Mick, and herself chipped in for plane fare for most of the family and he was hooked. Damn Beth with her journalism background. No wonder Mick was forever entranced and ensnared in her presence.

He wanted to be the freaking knight in shining armor and have Marguerite delighted at his feats to assist in her party even though she never mentioned to him about her birthday. Josef was not a stupid man not to look at her age and determined she was of legal status in applying for the freshie position. No way in hell was he ever going to touch a child and he loathed the fact there were others who wanted the blood of innocent children. However, he was miffed Marguerite never revealed her upcoming birthdays nor included him in the party. He wondered whether he angered her again and flipped through his mental rolodex if he had. Nevertheless, he opted to pay for the tickets and arranged for the party thrown here but it came with a few difficulties when the family asked about his reasons at the party.

The family as far as Marguerite and Iris informed them was the two of them were good friends with Josef. Josef even helped set Marguerite up in his home when she needed it the most. The female De La Cruz's oohhed and aahhed at his heroic efforts to shelter a Cruz in her time of need; however, the men in the family, including in-laws and friends were wary of his role in Marguerite's life. Both uncle and father who were related due to the fact of Marguerite's aunt was her father's younger sister, asked him what his intentions were with their daughter/niece. Hell, he felt as if he was back in London interrogated by the Scotland Yard on his whereabouts during the Jack the Ripper mayhem. Though if he compared the two together, this was more brutal.

"I am merely Marguerite's friend," he answered in Spanish. A good use he thought to himself after having picked up the language on an excursion into South America a couple years back.

"The way you both look at one another, contradicts that," Marguerite's uncle, Jesus, yes, Jesus was the man's name as he eyed Josef. He was protective uncle over the De La Cruz clan and there was no fault in wanting to make sure the livelihood of everyone was secured. Hell, Josef admired to see where the men held their loyalties but all knew when to back off and give the ladies breathing room.

"You do know she is studying to be a psychologist and nothing, whether it is a man or woman can stop her from it," Cristobal, Marguerite's father commented as he took a sip of his water bottle. Marguerite, her father, and the younger children were the only ones who foregone alcohol and went for the sugary drinks or water held in coolers. Different is what he stated compared to the various balls, parties, and events he usually attended. This was an event even he would need pictures to verify he attended.

* * *

"Papi," I started when I noticed my father and uncle ganged up on Josef. I was only too glad my ex-Marine cousin; Big D was preoccupied with his latest main squeeze. Swear on a box of my family books he always grabbed the youngest arm candies but the upside the girls at least had brains. This chick he had on his arm was one of the wrestlers he coached for a high school team. Yes, ladies and gentleman, my twenty-five year old former Marine and champion wrestler nabbed an eighteen-year old senior. I had to hand it to my cousin, he at least had game.

Both my father and uncle looked sheepish and slightly embarrassed but both puffed out their chest. Each one tried to explain the reason for their need to question Josef. All of the excuses fell on deaf ears as I shushed them away towards my aunt and mother. My mother shook her head at my father and my aunt grabbed my uncle by the ear and tugged it. He griped and swiped the hand away but it merely ensued my aunt in a stern warning not to ruin the party with his actions. Uncle nodded, went back towards the buffet of food, and piled himself a plate of carne asada while my father went to dance with my mother in another Narco corrido song. Everyone in the family whether we liked it or not were forced to listen to Spanish love ballads and songs about the infamous drug lords of the time.

Myself, I could handle Los Tigres Del Norte (The North Tigers) because their love ballads were the kind to bring a tear to my eye and Chapo de Sinaloa (The Fellow from Sinaloa), but the rest with the bass playing harder than the singer not my cup of tea. "Let's get it started," I shouted as I went back towards the dance floor. What a fool I made myself out to be but it was my party and I wanted to have fun. Though no alcoholic beverage would pass my lips tonight, I wanted to get high off of life. Especially since I only turn twenty-one once unless there is a parallel universe where everyone lived their lives twice then it might have changed things.

"Care to dance?," a voice wafted into my ear drums. Small goose bumps started beneath my cast and free arms when I realized who the voice belonged to. James. Never did I realize he could have been invited to the party and then another voice entered into my head as well.

"How about a dance?," the second voice asked. Josef. Double damn. I wondered how both men I was interested in, more into one, than the other both managed to ask me for a dance. For a second there, I wanted to look up at the sky and ask if someone up there was seriously joking around with me but it could have looked awkward and embarrassing if I did so.

Vaulting my attention from Josef to James and once more the choice was taken out of my hands when someone grabbed me around the middle and hugged me. When I glanced over my shoulder, relief entered into my face at the sight of Sasha before my very eyes. The only person to know about Sasha and James were Josef, Iris, Beth, and Mick. From there, I whittled it down to Iris and Beth, since Mick and Josef would not have wanted outsiders at the party who they did not know well enough.

"Sasha!," I yelled as I smiled and thanked whoever was looking out for me for this interruption. At least, I could wait a bit longer to decide who I would have to dance with.

"Marguerite! Darling, let me take a look at you," Sasha commented as she took me by the hand and I twirled like a ballerina before her, James and Josef.

"My, my, if only I met you two years' earlier, we could have had something. No matter, you are going to make the boys drool, well, the ones that are not related to you. Unless, you are into that sort of thing then keep it on the down low," Sasha rambled on. The woman was an upper I never had to worry overdosing on. She said the things at times I was hesitant to say and I respected that. Give me a transsexual who spoke her mind fully and I will give her a new pair of Jimmy Choos.

Laughing, I spun once more and shook my hips to the techno-beat now playing. "Hopefully the boys will have a bucket to keep people from falling over the wet floors. Plus, I am not into incest though I am prone to kissing hot women on the street who are not related to me," I stated as I winked at Sasha.

Sasha fanned herself and covered her heart with her hands. "Such a way with words this gal, you boys are going to have to sit this one out. I am taking her out for a few twirls and who knows, by the time the song ends I might make her my new arm candy. If you guys know what I am saying," she teased as she grabbed me by the hand and pulled me towards the dance floor.

Dancing with Sasha excused me from picking one guy over the other and cause trouble. Way I saw it, if I picked James over Josef, Josef would retaliate later, not in front of the family but later. He might tease me about choosing the guy I went on a single date over someone who knew, housed, clothed, fed, and drove me around longer than James. If I picked Josef, James might assume there was more than a friendship between Josef and I. Either way, Sasha saved me as we danced to the slow tune. The both of us tried to follow in the female dance steps but it was difficult when it was two females dancing together. Now I knew Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell's dilemma when both danced with one another.

"So how are you feeling?," Sasha asked as she dipped me first.

"Good," I replied and dipped her as well.

"Just good? Do not lie, it gives you crow lines honey," she commented while I twirled her.

"Liar," I shot back. Though in the back of my head I wondered whether the lies I kept from myself on the subject of Josef where in fact giving me crow lines. That would suck a hose.

"That's the pot calling the kettle black."

"Big words."

"Suck it," she answered as she smirked at me. Tonight, Sasha made a splash with a 1920's flapper inspired look completed with the bobbed wig, black flapper dress, and even a cigarette holder in her hand as we danced.

"You wish."

"Maybe."

"How about later?," I teased and we burst into laughter. The Cruz clan merely chuckled and went back to the festivities.

A tap on my shoulder interrupted the little banter Sasha and I started. Glancing over my shoulder, I laughed and jumped into my best friend's arms.

"Ashlee!," I cried out. Ashlee and I have been best friends since sophomore year of high school which placed us at the six-year mark. While I attended California State Los Angeles, she opted for San Francisco State because of its closeness to the city we both originated from. Plus, her parents were helping her with tuition and after the fall out we had a few years back over her getting into the party scene. Ladies and ladies, here is a rule even if it is an unwritten rule between girlfriends. No matter what, girlfriends never hang or closely associate themselves with other girlfriends ex's for any reason.

Two years back, I attended community college with Ashlee before transferring to Los Angeles. I dated a guy who in the end was a waste of my time and even thought process. Ashlee befriended him a few weeks before him and I started to date and when the relationship ended, she started to comfort him rather than me. Oh, she looked after me the day the boy and I ended it but slowly, I noticed she hung out with him more than me. Soon, he caught her up into the partying scene; I pulled back from her, went on to push myself harder in studies and made other friends.

Ashlee, on the other hand, fulfilled the downfall I assumed would happen if she hung around with the pot-smoking jerk off an ex of mine. Not only she flunked two of her four classes, her parents wanted her out of her house because of the grades, her car repossessed by her mother, and the ex of mine deserted her and their 'friendship' when she needed support. It took several weeks and conversations to mend the friendship and a lot of spillage of feelings before we forgot the incident. Even now the two of us keep in touch and visit one another, well, I visit her more than she visits me because at least in San Francisco I will be hit on by lesbians, straight men, bi-sexual men/women, and even a few drag Queens and Kings and only have to worry about covering up hickeys rather than gunshot wounds in Los Angeles.

Excusing myself from Sasha, she went off and grabbed James and replaced me as her dance partner. James was a sweetheart and went along with it as Ashlee and I caught up with one another. She even introduced me to the new man in her life one that she commented later could be the one. The criteria for a potential guy for Ashlee is this: has a job, not living in the basement of their parents house unless they were saving up on money, no more than a kid in the picture, no stalking ex-girlfriends, and not an asshole. Most of the men where we used to attend college usually had a few of these no-no's and made things difficult for her to date them.

After a few more minutes of chatting and even taking the first shot of tequila of the night when my cousin Lixy offered it (yes, I said I would not but, hey, one shot is not all that bad), I excused myself when I started to notice Phantom walking around with a big red bow wrapped around his neck. "Now what in the hell?," I muttered as I headed his way. I wondered if things would get more interesting tonight.

* * *

"Presents!," Iris called out. Present unveiling always a spectacle when it comes to the family. Everyone gathered around a large table I had not noticed until not filled side to side and top to bottom with presents. Whenever a present was opened, the Cruz's photographed the person holding the gifts to memorialized the event and even on my twenty-first, it was still done to me.

Gathered around the table as much as everyone could, I started in on the gifts. Since there was by the list Beth showed to me forty-one people, excluding me, at this shindig, I expected a lot of the family members to fork over cash. Iris and I were difficult to shop from depending on the moods we were in. For a time, I adored overalls but that was between the ages of 12-15 and I regretted photographs of men in overall shorts and a big scrunchie in my hair. I was born during the eighties, a bit of slack should be given and at least the negatives to the pictures were hidden in my secret box.

While I went through the presents, oohing and thanking the givers for the items, Josef clicked his camera on me. Along with my mother of course who brought her own camera to later develop and show off to the rest of the clan who could not make it, Josef kept his attentions on me, eyes narrowing to find the perfect shot. Never had I seen him this serious in a while. The past few days we somehow managed to patch up our friendship but never tread into the bathroom incident or the library one as well. We were both content with living in the bubble made for us and ignored the tangible fact of something brewing. If my own father, who usually thanked the Lord whenever I was single figured it out the few minutes he saw me after several months of not then trouble headed my way.

"Oh! That's from me!," Ashlee called out as she snuggled closer into her latest boyfriend's side.

Briefly, I met Jonathan on a friendly visit during Spring Break. At the time, I was barely a month into the position of freshie and Ashlee invited me out to hang with her since she wanted to act like a tourist and re-explore San Francisco. There were times I wondered why I had not been born in that town because of my personality. I accepted every and any type of person whether he or she has their own acquired tastes in sexual preference and even participated in the Pride Parades.

By participated, I meant dressed up in a leather corset and mini-skirt with friends in drag tied up to leashes as we hit the streets of San Francisco and Los Angeles. This year, Ashlee and I vowed to get together for San Francisco pride which loomed closer than we thought. One more week and the streets of Castro, Mission, and Fisherman's Wharf would bustle with the parade and festival hosted every year during the last weekend of June.

Opening the gift Ashlee gave to me I laughed and clapped my hands. A red dress with a low v-neck scoop and a seventy-five dollar gift card to Borders; the women knew what I wanted. Clothes and Borders gift card. I am the biggest bibliophile compared to Ashlee. She can get through Black Dagger Brotherhood book in less than three days while for me it took about a week to get through. Though I enjoyed Vishous's book, my god, the man is an enigma.

"Mm, if only you were a lesbian," I teased at her as I held out the dress to my own and posed for the cameras. Josef's expression was one I guessed was of confusion or interest when he figured out the low scoop of the dress would show off. Either way, I bathed in the attention he at least showed my way. For today, I was the birthday girl and I could party how I wanted to.

"Sorry, don't like tuna, always fancied the stuffed kielbasas. You should know that by now," she retorted with a smile on her face.

Only a few times I wondered what it might be like if I had pursued Ashlee as more than a friend. Over time, I felt her friendship was worth more than a few months of a relationship and then breaking up. Besides, who knew my mood swings and personality more than my best friend? Well, maybe myself, but still it helped to have someone decipher the things I committed to the police as I awaited bail.

On and on went the unwrapping of the presents, a good slew of gifts until paper wrappings and tissue littered the table and floor. There were a few presents missing from the table and I deducted who had yet to give this birthday girl her treats. My parents, Iris, Mick, Beth, Sasha, James and Josef were the invitees who needed to start explaining. My mother and father stepped up with their gift for me in their hands. Each one possessed a gift and both had precious smiles as each waited for me to open the gifts. Seems the ones who conceived me and the others wanted to hand the gifts to me personally.

"Here," my mother answered in broken English. A small jewelry box went into my open hand and I stared at it. Curiosity never registered fast enough as I opened the box before anyone asked for me to do so and my breath stilled. Inside the box was a pink floral cameo set into a necklace. Profusely, I thanked the both of them for the first gift and when my father gave me the second jewelry box, I was merely happy both came to my bash. The second box contained a replicate pink floral cameo but this time it was set into a ring, a matching set. Showed the crowd the gifts and hugged my parents. Those two knew the meaning behind the cameo's and what it meant to me.

"I love it but I love you two most of all," I whispered as I brushed away the tears from my eyes. The good thing about the mascara was the fact I used water based and not a huge mess made when I wiped the corners of my eyes with my fingertips. Father hugged me first and whispered he was proud of the schoolwork I accomplished, especially away from the family. The only De La Cruz in Los Angeles other than Iris who reminded me she headed out in another day on tour.

Since I was born, the slew of family members surrounded me and several times during my life I wanted space. When I received a few hours of alone time in the house the parents owned I cherished the time with painting, dancing in the house barefooted, and even turn the stereo up loud and sing along to the music. In the old neighborhood, police rarely visited the place unless a murder or a drug bust happened and the neighbor's never minded the fact of loud music thumping next door. Whenever parties were held at my house where almost all parties, baptisms, marriages, sweet sixteen's, funerals, even divorces, the music played loud and everyone had fun. Now, it seemed the party moved to a new venue but the beat of the music pounded and thumped against the walls a constant reminder of the people who loved and cared for me would forever be there for me.

Mom hugged me and whispered as well into my ear, "Tien cuidado con el guero (Be careful of the white boy)." My, my, my own mother warned me to watch out for Josef. I knew who she was talking about. Mick, another guero, as she would call him for the fact that of his slightly tanned skin was draped over Beth as both watched the chaos of a twenty-first birthday ensued was not the only she mentioned. Josef, the guero the one my dear mother cautioned me to keep an eye out for. Now, if my curandero (shaman) of a grandmother started foretelling of the future which included a devil man who had the face of an angel, I would ask Josef if he paid my family to freak me out on my day.

After my parents, Sasha stepped up to give me her gift. A pair of fur-lined cuffs and vibrator, though the vibrator I left in the bag. No need to let the younger children know and even Josef the fact the only action I got these past few months needed two AA batteries to get itself turned on for me. James must have found out on his own during the first date conversation we had because he gave me a box set of George A. Romero's Dead Series. Always a fan of Romero's zombie trilogy, James must have picked up the comment and I thanked him with a kiss on the cheek and a request for another date. Maybe he could turn out to be a great guy but I had to give him another chance.

Now Iris and her fiancée came out with their gifts but I noticed there was another guy crowded against my sister's side. He was handsome in a male escort kind of way even reminded me a bit of Oded Fehr, the man who played Carlos Olivera in Resident Evil with Mila Jocovich. The three of them held gifts in their hands and I had an eye on the Oded-look alike.

"This one is from me," Iris stated as she placed a small gift card in front of me. I whistled and opened the card. Seemed the lot of them who waited to hand me the presents last had a lot to store in me. Iris's gift was a five hundred dollar card to Borders to which Ashlee joked if she could now be officially adopted as a De La Cruz woman. Her fiancée's treat was another five hundred dollar gift card this one to Old Navy. Now from the Oded guy, he handed me an envelope.

Laughter ensued when I read the document in the envelope aloud to everyone. "It is a certificate which announces I have a year-long supply of Chippendale tickets and even a private dinner date with one of the Chippendales." The Oded Fehr twin was the private dinner date and he oozed sexual stamina. He had to in order to get through the shows he starred in with the rest of the group of male dancers. Dear sister of mine seemed to think I could use a slew of half-naked men gyrating their assets in front of my face and dear God she was right.

Clapping my hands, I eyed the Chippendale piece of ass and smirked. Though he was no Josef and no one was Josef, at least I could distract myself for the rest of the year with hot pieces of man meat dancing their asses off to the latest Britney single. Introductions with the sexually arousing Chippendale had to wait until I got through the last of the gifts.

Mick and Beth's combined gift came in the form of 160 GB pink iPod classic. The thing that surprised me most of all was the color it came in. Classic iPod only came in black and white but never in any other color. "How did you get it in Pink?," I asked as I turned the iPod to get a better look and saw writing engraved into the back. _Marguerite's Property: Back Off_. I smiled and shook my head in amusement and showed it off towards the crowd. Josef snatched it out of my hands and smiled and took a picture of the engraving.

"This is one for the photo album," he stated close to my ear as he was the last one to hand over the last of the gifts.

"Mm, I wonder what it could be?," I asked him and the crowd. By this point, the sun had set over the horizon and the liquor flowed like water. Any and everyone who were lovers of alcohol were either buzzed or happily drunk by now. My cousin, Lita, known for her bouts of hitting the bottle harder than most of us no doubt stood precariously on her heels as everyone waited to know the gift Josef bought for me.

"Open it up and see," Josef replied as he held out a manila envelope towards me. I looked over his shoulder to see if he brought along another Chippendale to announce another year's worth of tickets to the shows and a private dinner. This lady deserved a bit of fun after the failed whatever it was with Josef, passed my finals, lived through an attack, and a bikini waxing earlier to wear this dress and nothing was going to stop me.

Well, something did stop me. In fact, my heart stopped a few seconds as I let the words on the paper sink in. What the hell was going on tonight?

"Well?," Josef prodded as he placed his hand on my back and caressed my spine. In front of everyone this was a sign of placing territory and to me, I wondered what he was trying to do.

"It is a check for full tuition for my final year of undergrad and enough money to finance graduate and even the backpacking trip I have been talking about," I replied and I felt Josef's caressing hand stilled when I mentioned the backpacking trip. Never had I revealed the fact I wanted to travel throughout Europe without the whole Hostel inspired part.

"Go on, there's more," he replied as he pulled his hand away but stayed near my side. The man a math problem that had yet to be solved. One of these days I vowed to find a way to get him to sit down and tell each other what was

A key with a tag attached was the only item left in the manila envelope. My name and cell number were written on the tag and the key unfamiliar to me. Could it be the key was to a car, however, I rarely drove in Los Angeles, especially in a city horrible with traffic. Key to the Chippendale's changing room? Mm, that might not be a bad gift after all.

"The key you hold in your hand is a key to this house," he answered as he held out his arms and verified his words.

"Wait? What?!," I asked as I turned towards him. A look of confusion and amusement covered my face as I wondered what Josef meant. Either he was having a bit of fun at my expense or he was deathly serious about it. The fact his face devoid of any amusement and seriousness played his features made my throat close up. He was serious.

"The key is to this house because I want us to start a life together. I want you to marry me," he answered a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. He got down on his knee and pulled out a ring box. Son of a bitch was serious about this. What in the hell was going on?

* * *

Sorry it took so long. Yes, I am leaving this at a cliffhanger. I am better with my ankle and busy with summer school, trying to get out out a semester early and transfer out. Promise to get the next chapter out and I adore the reviews. Please, make some more and I will love you all. Love this chapter and peace out.


	8. Marry Me, Now!

Title: Taking Chances- Chapter 8: Marry Me, Now!  
Author: Bubukittypuck  
Archived: Here of course, Fictionpress, and my laptop  
Summary: Marguerite's first person perspective on the relationship she has or does not have with Josef. She is freshie to Josef's donor.  
Rating: It ranges from PG-13 to M later on.  
Pairings: OC/Josef  
Feedback: Review please though do not flame.  
Characters: Josef, Marguerite, Beth, Mick, and any other characters inhabiting Los Angeles.  
Beta's: None  
Disclaimer: I don't own Moonlight or the characters, though I do wish Moonlight does come back. For now, writing fanfics seems to stem the need to hunt down Jason Dohring and bring him back to my bedroom. I do not own the right to Nair though I wish the company could make it less sticky and more perfumy. Plus Saran Wrap is not a patent I hold but it does come in handy when I need to cover up a dish and send it off on its way. Chippendale I love but I do not own nor the Coolpix but I wish I owned Ashton Kutcher. I do not own Hostel and I respect Eli Roth. If I ever met him in person, I would ask him to put me in his next movies, whether I am the one being killed or the one to kill. He is a genius and I adore him.

* * *

_"The key is to this house because I want us to start a life together. I want you to marry me," he answered a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. He got down on his knee and pulled out a ring box. Son of a bitch was serious about this. What in the hell was going on?_

Those words repeated itself in my head over and over as I looked at Josef perched on the bathroom sink in the guest room I occupied. Even now, when I pulled him to his feet and excused the two of us to 'talk' over his proposal in private, the men in my family was ready to come after him. The men disliked dishonesty and boy, was Josef dishonest about his place in my life. He told my uncle and father, my father whom I adore beyond comprehension and my uncle known for his former boxing occupation the two of us were friends and I defended him only to let them and the family think he and I were involved. God, even James saw the whole thing and now I wondered what his thought process headed towards.

"Well, what did you think of my proposal" Josef stated as he crossed his arms over his chest. Oh, how I wanted to walk on over and slap the little smirk off his face but I knew he could stop me with the fluid movement that came with being a vampire before I even took half a step towards him. A negative check in the box of why Josef and I were not compatible with one another no matter that I wished we could be.

"What did I think of your proposal? Josef, you surprised the hell out of everyone, including myself. What are you trying to pull?," I asked as I laid against the bathroom door. Knowing my family, someone sent out a spy to listen in on the conversation. With added measure, I locked the door and pounded my fists every few seconds against the door to drone out our conversation.

Josef leaped off of the edge of the sink with the ease of a panther and boy, he looked every bit of the lethal panther as he glanced over me. Vaguely, I wondered whether my face was still red from the embarrassment and shock of hearing his marriage proposal. He walked slowly, but surely, towards me, his hands in his pocket, where the damn ring box laid as well. When he opened the ring box, a whooping fat diamond engagement ring twinkled and taunted itself at me in the velvet encased around it, I wanted to punch and kiss Josef in that moment.

For a fleeting few seconds, elation and pure joy invaded my whole body at the prospect of Josef wanting to marry me and be the man I yearned for all these months. However, in those same seconds, a bucket of water iced the veins inside of me and I felt Josef was pulling my leg. Josef, a man every woman he slept with and came into contact with all said he was forever a bachelor, a Casanova never to be tied down to one woman, went down on one knee for my hand in marriage. Impossible, my mind thought because of how quick he asked me and never had we even acknowledged our feelings to one another nor did we ever go on a proper date to even see if we were compatible. As a result of those questions bashed around in my skull as I wanted to find out the truth from Josef in private.

* * *

Those hands of his laid against the sides of her head, blocking any escape routes she had in case Josef went vampire on her. This scenario brought back the library incident in Josef's head and he fought back the need to kiss her. Past few days after he gotten calls about the murdered freshies and the owners pushing for revenge and bloodshed, Josef received inspiration in the form of the paparazzi photographs of Marguerite and himself the day she was released from the hospital. It was brilliant and stupidity but the way he planned it out, the scheme would work. With the help of Mick, Beth, and even Marguerite's own sister, everything fell into place.

The way he planned it was this: He, Josef, would propose to Marguerite in front a huge public and he was blessed when it came up with her birthday bash. Everyone, including her close friends, James, and Sasha would get the word out in the Los Angeles about the supposed Playboy of Hollywood settling down with a 'normal' type of female.

From there, he revealed the scheme to her which he did with whispering in her ear in the bathroom, he received a sure slap across the face and he waited for her to try and slap him again. He was surprised however when she rubbed her eyes, ruining the eye shadow she wore.

"I cannot believe this," she whispered low enough for him to hear but not for the relatives on the other side to catch. Good thing about Josef as a vampire, he could hear a pin drop from two rooms away and the muttering oaths of a person in church whenever he felt the need to confess his sins.

"Well believe it," he replied as he tapped and thumped at the door with his hands methodically to interrupt her family and friends from listening in. He heard Sasha and James on the other side of the door, whispering and asking various questions.

_"Were the two dating or was it an open relationship when I asked Marguerite out?", James asked._

Oh, if only, Josef thought to himself though he never would have allowed any of his girlfriends to be screwing other men while he was around. Hell, if he thought about it hard enough, he was glad for this marriage 'proposal' plan of his. Not only would he able to weed out the two murderers but have Marguerite under his protection even more. By protection, he meant keeping her away from James and off the market until this whole scenario was over.

_"Always knew my girl would bag a handsome guy but a rich guy? Damn, she is good," Ashlee, Marguerite's friend commented._

Well, he considered himself on the regal side. Though he detested the fact of a woman wanting to marry him only for his money but then he realized the fact of living in a city where money bought power and made people talk came at a price. Hopefully, Marguerite was not one of the regular trophy wives he saw hanging off of the celebrities these days. Though he wondered what she was thinking at the moment.

* * *

"Do you know what you have gotten yourself into? What you have gotten me into?," I questioned and stopped the need to smack him once more. The first time I was lucky and Josef allowed me to hit him. Next time, I would not be so lucky.

"Yes and it will be worth it. The final police report came in on your apartment. There were listening bugs in your house for the past few weeks, Marguerite. What does that say about the fact someone was in your house, planted them and you had no idea?," he asked as we both pounded the door and I warned the others to let us speak in private. Seeing as I heard my cousin ask for a glass cup to put towards the door, I started to turn on the water in the sink, tub, and shower. The two of us huddled together near the closed shower door as we talked more and he helped get my heart rate back to normal.

"Are you freaking kidding me?," I hissed when he pulled a zip lock bag containing a small listening device from the inside of his pocket. It was one of several devices found in my apartment. Seems the dead Deacon fellow and his buddies were listening in on me for a while at the way Josef phrased it.

"Do I look like I am kidding you?," he asked, an eyebrow rose in showing his complete lack of amusement at it. Nope, he was not kidding me or playing a nice joke on this special occasion.

"What now? If the sons of bitches invaded my damn privacy then there should be prints where they planted the stuff," I replied, running my fingers through my curls as best as I could. Tonight, was turning out to be a birthday party that went down as a memory I wanted to surely forget. However, Josef would not let me forget it.

"You say yes to the proposal and then we announce it to the groups. Go out in public with it as well, get those sons of bitches as you called them, and enjoy the rest of the summer," Josef answered as only Josef could. Made it simple as if he was explaining the need to take a breath.

Rubbing my eyes even further, I noticed the eye shadow stains on my fingers, realizing how long I had been trying to ease the headache pounding through my skull. "This is crazy," I whispered and looked towards the reflection of Josef and I in the mirror. In the mirror, another image covered the original one. In this image, Josef held me as I died away in his arms as blood stains covered my stomach and chest.

Josef's hand caressed my cheek as he willed me physically to turn my head and look at him. "No, you have to trust me and put your faith. This is going to work but it you have to say yes and go along with it. Can you go along with it?," he asked me. The horrible sight of my death disappeared when I glanced into his face. Gone was the playful nature that was Josef and in its place was a seriousness only shown in the boardroom when he went for the jugular. A slight nod was all I gave as he smirked and moved to shut off the water. He came back, held out his hand and waited for me to take it.

"We are in this together," he answered.

Taking his hand, I squeezed it and looked towards the locked door. "Yes, we are."

* * *

"Josef and I have something to tell you guys. Josef, go ahead," I commented as I handed it over for Josef to continue. He and I stood side to side, his left hand clasping my right hand tightly. He squeezed my right hand firmly, a sign he was not happy with being thrown under the bus. Well, he planned the 'proposal' and by accounts he should finish it.

"Marguerite and I have been secretly dating for a while but we took a break a few weeks back. When the robbery incident happened it was a punch to my gut and made me realize I almost lost the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."

Funny he said that. He should have said, "...spend the rest of my immortal life with" but I kept my mouth shut. No one in the family except Iris and I were aware of Mick, Josef's, and Iris's fiancée's conditions. Josef's statement of me being the "woman" he truly wanted made me bite the inside of my cheek to stop the need to mention Sarah again.

"Is this true, Marguerite?," my father asked, his facing having turned a deep shade of red. Uh-oh. Last time I saw my father in this of purple/red was the first time I started to drive with him in the car. Oh, how he complained the way I steered was wrong and the need to check both sides of the right five times before moving another inch at a stop sign. I banned him for the first few weeks of training me to drive and instead went with my mother.

After I passed my driver's test and received my license, it took several weeks before I relented and had my father in the car with me on errands and father/daughter trips. To tell you the truth, I enjoyed the fact I drove my father around and we bonded during those trips. Now seeing him in this condition, a few father/daughter bonding sessions would be needed to fix this mess.

Swallowing down the acrid taste of the rising bile, I simply nodded, looked over to Josef and explained the situation as best as I could to the family. It took much control to not glance in James's direction and see his crestfallen face when I confirmed the "relationship" Josef and I had.

"We have been dating since January but a few weeks ago, I needed a break. I told Josef I wanted to solely focus on my college work," I replied and glanced over in Josef's direction. Man, he worked the fiancée to a fine T.

"Then what about us?," James asked as he made himself known to the crowd. The party wound down and Mick, Beth, and Iris were smart enough to have the limousines take back the family members not needed for this event. Josef stared down the remainder of the family and friends who opted to stay. Out of the core group who knew of Josef and his background, Beth, Mick, Iris and accompanying fiancée stayed. My father and mother, including the immediate De La Cruz clan and Ashlee were not ushered back to the respective hotels. It still left me with seventeen people to deal with.

"Who is this guy?," my father pointed towards as he looked to me for a confirmation. Another surge of bile headed up my throat and much force was needed not to throw up once more. I hated disappointing my father, the man raised me better than his own mother raised him and in front of the family I revealed the fact I dated two men between periods. Fuck, this was not good. Not good at all.

This time Josef left me to explain who James was to me. Damn it, this is what I never wanted to happen. Never had I wanted the family around James nor wanted James to be brought to the family without at least warning him about my family. Though I adored my family somehow we were all cursed. My aunt's three daughters and son and my father's children which were only Iris and I were inflicted with a curse we all disliked.

The curse ladies and gentleman inflicted the people we were in relationships with. Somehow the family was too much for a person to handle unless born into it the mayhem and catastrophes and a break up always an inevitable. Even my cousin, Liz, dated a guero for more than five years, but he still could not handle the language barriers and the events which happened around certain people or groups of family members. No matter what, it was hard on any relationship outside of the family to survive. Ashlee and my own friendship managed to survive because I helped translate between her and the family and invited her to several events. Warnings of what might happen at family outings helped Ashlee get over the fact of certain people acting like idiots and assholes.

"How can you not tell us, honey?," my mother asked in Spanish, eyes narrowing in suspicion at Josef. The De La Cruz females and Ashlee's attention settled on Josef and me. All of their eyes glanced over us and through us, all of them trying to determine whether the two of us tried to hoax them into this lie or not. For now, we had to make this hoax of whatever type of engagement this was real. This depended on getting those good for nothing assholes off of the streets and away from more innocent freshies.

"I did not want to worry everyone with my relationships. All of you are doing great and I wanted to do this on my own and handle it on my own," I replied and enunciated the 'on my own' part because though I loved my family dearly, everyone needed to let me try and make my own mistake. Even now, I was making a huge mistake in lying to my family and friends but it was for the safety of everyone. If the bastards listened to enough of my conversations, then the De La Cruz clan was in trouble of being murdered or taken hostage if the men pulled up information on any of the members.

The nearest family member who lived close by was my cousin Lixy, a year older than me, in Compton. Lixy and I are known as the black sheep of the family because the fact we wanted to try and separate a bit from the Cruz clan rather than stay in the nest and plant out lives around everyone. Dearly, I loved the members of my family but the thought of being watched over constantly like a precious artifact gave me hives and sooner or later I would have combusted and shamed the family for my wild antics because of the need to be free. Much better for me to have carved out a semblance of a single life for myself and stand on my two feet without the need for Mom and Pop to bail me out of trouble then to always wonder what could have been. Now, standing in a house worth more than ten times than a private school tuition bill, I waited for the family to start in on the question but it was worth it since I had Josef as my back up.

Josef held my hand as we took the onslaught of questions to the living room, where we sat together on a couch and the others grabbed seats on the chairs and couches brought in for the festivities. At first, the questions were ball-busting.

"Have you two thought much on this marriage thing?." This question came courtesy of my twice married cousin Lita. Nothing against her but she needed a lesson in picking a good husband for her though the husband she had at the moment was the kind she went for. Partially handsome Mexican gentleman grateful enough to have any woman date him much less marry him and willing to take up the gripe which only Lita could possess.

"Yes, I mentioned it to Marguerite but she wanted to wait until she finished her junior year before she gave me an answer. Well, she is finished," he answered as he looked over towards me. Smooth, real smooth of trying to evade the question.

"Have you planned a date for the wedding?," Sasha asked as she patted herself down for another cigarette. I was only too glad she was out of cigarettes since I have an aversion to the smell and diagnosed asthma when I was young. Damn, seems the De La Cruz clan caught various illnesses and diseases even some people never would have contracted. Yep, we are that special.

We looked to one another and we both linked in the words. "In a," Josef started and I ended with, "Month." In a month. In a month, the two of us would get married, we told the family. Oh, that made more problems as the family burst with even more questions. We are screwed, I thought myself as Josef and I answered question upon question for the next hour.

* * *

I watched the full moon drape itself over the night sky and I wondered how this engagement would test my limits. In front of the world, the curtain went up on Josef and I as a couple in love but when the curtain closed for the night, he and I were merely a vampire/human co-existing for a cause. Once the show ended, I would be left to clean up the broken pieces of my heart. Nevertheless, a smile would plaster itself on my face never mind the fact I yearned for an unattainable match.

Josef would forever love Sarah. The End. No if's, and's, or but's. Hell, most of the time, I wondered when Sarah would awaken and snatch Josef back up. The stories Mick told me of the life Josef had with Sarah, though it was short, was still a life filled with laughter and happiness. Josef actually smiled, he smiled without a smirk hidden beneath the surface or a forced one he used in front of the media. His humor and body language different, more relaxed and serene when he held Sarah in his arms. Now, Mick, Beth, and I noticed he holds himself more rigid and aloof from everyone else. Even with his friends. The thought of seeing a genuine smile on his face made my day if only he could relax.

"Your parents insisted on an engagement party and your friend, Ashlee, wanted a bachelorette party. I thought a party like this one would have tired them out. Are you sure your family is human and not the rumored succubis' and incubis' rumored to have moved to Mexico a century ago?," he asked. There were other types of people running around. Succubis', Incubis', Djinn's, Angels, Demons, and even a few Vaman (part-vampire, part-human offspring's).

"Well, you found us out. My father is of a long line of Incubis' and he met my mother, part Succubus at a bar twenty-two years ago. My niece, Juley, is one-fourth Succubus, which is why she can pass off as a human. Only her eyes give her away as one," I answered sarcastically, rolling my eyes in obvious attempt of annoyance.

We talked on the balcony a while longer. Beth, Mick, Iris and her fiancée said their goodbye's before departing. My sister hugged and reminded me not to let the family get to me. The family always went for the jugular in a test to see whether or not I would let the cat out of the bag. Nope, I was schooled in the art of saving face and not my disappointed father could stop the trap Josef placed for the freshie assassins.

"We will see you two in the morning for a few photo sessions and send them off to the tabloids to print them in the magazines and newspapers. Plus, have you the two of you sit down for interviews; let the media know the 'love' you two have for one another. With the news covering this story, which I know will be a big headline for several weeks, the men are bound to see this as an opportunity," Beth explained as she wrote down on a piece of paper the list of tabloids highly interested in any news concerning Josef. Josef always news worthy piece of vampire grabbed a lot of attention with the women he had hanging themselves at banquets, balls, parties, any and every event waited for him to bring the publicity to him.

Nodding, I turned back towards the skyline of Los Angeles where I even made out the HOLLYWOOD sign and wondered how long I could take faking a relationship with Josef without thinking I actually was in one with him. Those emotions of mine needed to shut themselves off if the need to pretend to want Josef as my own to survive the aftermath.

"Thanks," Josef merely said as he waved the others away and told them to lock the door on the way out. He nursed his drink, a glass of blood in his right hand as I played with the little umbrella on my Long Island Iced Tea. After the onslaught of relationship questions, James giving me the dirty look, and my father disappointed in my actions, I deserved to drink my self-pity away.

The attention I had for the moon soon turned towards the rock on my ring finger. It sparkled in the moon light and if this was a real engagement, oh, I would have buffed the diamond up to a nice glint and shown it off at any possible moment; but it was not. Only consolation of this night was the family members who attended and the presents I received. I had yet to ask Josef about the tuition check for my college education and I brought it up as we settled ourselves for the rest of the night on the balcony. Josef dragged two chairs out; we sat in them and made a comfortable silence for the two of us. In fact, I almost forget what I wanted to talk about when Josef brought up the check incident.

"With the check you will not have to worry about taking out those damn loans. Take out one of those loans and you might as well bend yourself over the desk because you will definitely get screwed repeatedly for the loan mistake," he answered as he winked towards me, clinking his drink against mine. In any other situation, he and I could have been great friends if the sexual tension was not there but even if he was a human, the tension would still be there. What can I say; I find myself attracted to a man or a woman that could potentially batter my emotions. Yep, I am definitely a good judge of a boyfriend or a girlfriend.

"Nice use of the words, 'desk', 'bend over', and 'screwed'. Once you get tired of the job you have now, you can always make a killing as a screenwriter for pornography. Hell, you can give the best lines to Jenna Jameson and maybe she can win an Oscar for her performance in Cumtastic Foursome," I replied back as I held my glass up in a triumphant zinger.

"Very nice, did you make up the Cumtastic Foursome title?"

"Yep, I might need to scale back on viewing porn but it helps with my studies."

"On what?"

"On the human sexuality class I took this semester, remember? You caught me that one time with a stack of rented porn on the coffee table? I told you I had a paper due on the cultural change in pornography."

"I thought you were joking and embarrassed you watched it for your own enjoyment, Marguerite."

"Well, I enjoyed a few of the movies but the other ones were horrible. Hell, I could be a better porn actress and make it somewhat believable."

"Porn is not supposed to be believable. Can you really believe a woman will order a pizza just so she can thank the delivery guy by blowing him? Please, how many pizza guys look like moi?," he asked, pointing to himself. The man had high remarks for himself.

"Alright, I will give you that but if I ever order a pizza and a hot guy delivers it, I am taking that opportunity," I joked, finally able to feel comfortable talking to Josef in this wanton manner. Hopefully, this 'engagement' would not ruin the banter and somewhat of a friendship we had going on. Even though I desperately wanted to rip his clothes off.

When the moon started to hide itself away and the sun sneaked its way back up into the sky, I realized I was ready to sleep the events away. How Josef looked in his unbutton shirt and arms pulled up to his elbows, hair astray, and posture that of a man who needed a few hours of sleep, it was time to wind down this conversation. Stretching one arm over my head and yawning loud enough to make myself look tired and ready for bed, I reminded Josef it was time for both of us to catch some sleep.

"Tired of my company already?," he asked in mocked shame. Once again, a man of dramatics he was.

Laughing off his comment, I patted his shoulder, said my good-nights, and whistled for Phantom to get off of the couch and headed back with the furry guy in tow back to my room. I wondered how the rest of the life I had at this moment would unveil itself for the next several weeks as Josef's 'fiancée'. When my head hit the pillow and my eyes closed shut for the night/morning, the last though I had before sleep overcame me was the image of Josef on his knees with a ring box held in his hand as he proposed to me, only this time for real. Now that placed a smile on my face as I dreamt the mid-morning away.

* * *

Few days later:

Josef's eyes adjusted to the lights and the cameras pointed towards his vicinity as he watched in amusement as Marguerite waved makeup artists away who tried to slather more foundation and powder onto her face. When he started with the 'engagement' plan, he knew all the right things to say and the perfect things to do in front of the media and to Marguerite's family. Seemed her parents needed to stay another day and checked out the validity of the engagement before they were satisfied Marguerite was in good hands. Slightly, he regretted the lies Marguerite and he waved to her close family and friends but he knew it was for a good cause. If the kooky family of hers thought Marguerite's engagement to him was in fact real, he betted almost all of them would gossip and get the word out and somehow the news might have reached far enough for the slimy bastards to come out from hiding.

To him, he suspected the organization of men wanted another chance to get to Marguerite and the other freshies and by announcing a grand wedding, assumptions of vampires and accompanying freshies would be there in attendance, the men would go mad with excitement over it. A chance to take out freshies and vampires in one area, the organization of men would descend on the place. The second set of freshie killings a few days ago cemented Josef and Mick's guesses of the murders were more than a two man job. One of the recent murdered freshies from the second set had fought back against his assailants and even caused a bit of blood spillage from the attacks. When Mick came back to Josef, he attested to the smell of more than one assailant's blood spilled in the murder location. The accompanying second of the latest set dead freshie was killed in the same hour as the first freshie. This meant the living two original freshie murderers had called in reinforcements. When reinforcements are called in, then it made things a lot trickier. Thus the whole engagement and wedding plan came to fruition.

Now as he and Marguerite waited for an investigative reporter, also known as, a gossiper in Hollywood, Josef took a few more minutes in analyzing Marguerite once again. The past few days in front of the public, Marguerite soared in the role of a love-struck fiancée who adored and could not wait to get married to him. Behind closed doors, she stayed in her room with Phantom, watched a slew of horror movies and made plans for the backpacking trip.

He disliked the fact she planned a trip to visit Europe. Did she not understand the problems she caused when she was not around him? The fact his blood simmered and burned when she was in the vicinity and when she was away, his mind raced with thoughts of her in another man's arms burned his stomach never seemed to show physically on his face long enough for her to catch on. No matter she offered her elbow to him again soon after the engagement announcement but she kept a guard up he guessed she never noticed whenever the cameras were turned off.

Soon, his thoughts were interrupted by the clearing of the reporter's throat and Marguerite reaching out to clasp his hand. When she merely touched him in that manner the desperation to kiss her inner wrist and whisper sweet nothings in her ear overcame him. More and more he felt detached from Sarah and gravitated more and more towards Marguerite and it scared him more than he wanted to admit.

"Marguerite, how long have you and Josef been dating before the two of you became engaged?," the reporter asked, sat back, and waited for his 'fiancée's' answer.

Marguerite looked towards him, smiled the smile that urged his basic instincts mark her as his own, and answered, "Josef and I started to see each other the first week of January. I can remember it and yet I cannot remember the exact date. I was busy with getting ready for school and somehow Josef showed up in the middle of signing up for spring classes. Remember, Josef," she inquired as she threw the question towards him.

Another thing he admired. She entranced the people around her with her warm demeanor but knew when to become an Ice Princess. A woman had to be in Los Angeles, a place where money and sex talked but souls and pride walked. He jumped into the interview with the opening Marguerite had for him and explained how the two of them lost what time was when having fun with one another. He made sure to throw on the charm and even a hint of sensuality into the mix.

"Now, I heard your new fiancee had an unfortunate incident at her old apartment. Now can you tell us how that felt, Marguerite or should I say Mrs. K?," the reported asked as she waggled her finely trimmed eyebrows.

He looked towards Marguerite and the condition she was in now. The cast had been replaced once more and this time only a wrap dressing covered her left wrist. Doctors found her bones healed up nicely with no problems at all. Bruises and cuts healed even better and only a light scar on her lower lip showed of the attack to her face. Even glancing at her face, he had the insatiable urge to hunt down the men himself and bleed them dry for the blood she shed in her struggles.

During the interview, he reached over every few minutes and whispered in her ear. Most of the time, he whispered, "Cannot wait to get out of here", "Phantom needs another bath, he smells like death", "I want your blood", "Need a pizza", just the randomness phrases he came up with. Nonetheless, Marguerite portrayed her reactions to his words as if he said erotic and teasing remarks. However, he wanted to place a real blush on her cheeks and the next time he leaned over in the interview, he whispered, "I want to burrow beneath your skin and stay there."

The reaction he managed out of Marguerite was priceless. Quickly, she turned her head to him, eyes wide as saucers, cheeks flooded with the rush of blood, and even he heard her heart thumped itself around in her chest. Seemed he was not the only one affected as well.

Briefly, he wondered whether Marguerite felt the same way whenever he was around her. His inner voice made itself known with whispering the troubles of involvement with humans much less one with an extended family. The old saying of marrying the girl and the family applied to this situation.

"Josef, later," Marguerite whispered back as he found she bounced back quickly from his comment. It was her lips which gave him inkling she felt something for him. Through the rest of the interview, she constantly chewed on the corner of her bottom lip, a sign from what Marguerite's sister revealed showed her interest in someone. He saw it

* * *

Once the interview ended and the woman, thanked us for sitting down with her, I was ready to leave. This was the fifth interview in the past three days and one of the least favorites of mine. Melanie Starr, good porn name if the gossip gig fell apart, continued to ask about our sex life and if Josef made me feel like a virgin for the very first time. Yes, people, she quoted Madonna's, 'Like a Virgin', in the interview. Answering questions about the sex life we supposedly had with one another was tricky.

Most of the time I changed the subject on sex altogether. When Melanie insisted over and over, I buckled my seats and went on the ride. I mentioned there was a sex swing in the bedroom and there was one point I asked for a ménage a trios but Josef hated sharing me with another man.

_"What? I would think any guy would jump at the chance though with two woman tag-teaming him in bed but what can I say, I wanted to see if he was jealous as his ex-girlfriend's told me."_

When it came to ex-girlfriend's, I let Josef take the lead on it. However, my jealousy stirred up when he named off a few women he was involved with before 'falling for me'. I know I should not have but hearing a list of bedmates, including a few supermodels and actresses made me skin crawl. Plus, Josef had not mentioned to Melanie the other ex-girlfriends of his as far back as four hundred years. He could have outrivaled Casanova and Don Juan, hell, he could have taught Don Juan and Casanova the way of the woman.

These unhealthy jealousy thoughts were unusual for me. Rarely, had I become a jealous girlfriend. One of the things I prided myself on was the fact I never batted an eyelash whenever other females came around my boyfriends. Plus, to be honest, I was never the faithful type of girlfriend. Let me explain, if I knew my boyfriend started to see another or was a player, I had the right to see other people; that way, if the relationship went kaput, at least I had a back up. Yes, yes, place my reasons up to comparison and I was merely a cheater as well but I have my reasons and everyone else to their own.

Either way, now I was jealous over the women Josef mentioned but I held my tongue and managed to get through the rest of the interview. When Josef whispered in my ear and mentioned he wanted to burrow under my skin, genuinely, he shocked me. Various images ran rampant in my mind. An image of Josef pressed against my skin, hands cupping the sides of my breasts and face planting himself in the valley of my cleavage brought heat to my face and in other places. Even the sight of Josef wrapped in only the bed sheets, hair tossed from a night of more than just sleeping in the guest bedroom, and a grin given especially to me caught me by surprise as another haunting fantasy.

Naturally, whenever I was aroused or intrigued at the prospect of someone, I chewed my lip and that was when Melanie honed in on more sizzling questions. Josef took the initiative and rolled with the punches. One of the reasons Josef caught my eye. He knew what the public wanted, dished it out, but stepped back to leave a bit of mystery for the audience to want more next time. After learning more about him, he intrigued me more than the mystery and thriller novels I usually bought as soon as the author published the next in the series. Josef, a character onto himself rivaled the male protagonists and antagonists in every morning and nighttime fantasy I had for the past few weeks. Even after the disaster with James at my birthday and the several calls I made to him, where he told me he hated the fact of bad timing on meeting me, we decided to stay friends. He even joked if the engagement fell through for me to call him up and have him take me out for another date.

James, if only he came around sooner before the chance meeting with Josef, things might have been different, I thought solemnly. Still, even if I met Josef later in life, yearnings for Josef would still have happened and I would have hated to break James's heart for it. Yes, I had a wandering eye when it came to relationships but I made sure never to harm someone I cared for but there were always exceptions. The sleaze bag that came between the friendship of Ashlee and me deserved the karma which came his way. Last I heard of him, the ass caught herpes and another ex of his made scathing remarks on don't date site on his faults. What made me laughed were the comments on his junk. He always overcompensated on his small friend.

"We have another interview in a few hours. How about I drop you off at the house, make sure Phantom is not tearing up the furniture, and I do this next interview alone?," he asked as he checked his phone while we headed towards the private lot for his Porsche. It was nice of him to put the offer on the table but left in the house where everything belonged to him was not a good idea. Once more, De La Cruz clan known for snooping and nosy people were accustomed to searching through other people's items to find out secrets and truths.

With Josef, his words should have placed me at ease but his body language told another story. His hands fiddled with his sunglasses and eyes strayed towards his expensive watch. Second thing I found out about Josef in the days after the engagement announcement. Everything he owned an instrument in the play he performed in front of audiences. There were times I wondered what his childhood life was like. He easily could have passed off as eighteen if he wanted and last I heard from Beth and Mick, Josef was in his early twenties when he turned. It was feat onto itself for the fact people lived fast and died young four hundred years ago. People dropped dead quickly of the flu or even a small paper cut because of non-existent medical assistant. Plus, doctors never washed their hands and used leeches or bloodletting to help with illnesses.

Crossing my arms over my shoulder, I gave him the classic You-are-hiding-something-from-me look he found out all on his own on the night of my birthday. "Do not bullshit me, Josef. What is going on?," I asked as I stopped at the passenger side. Somehow, I felt I should not have asked him the question but the way he conveyed his words made me anxious at the answer.

"Oh, what vulgar words you use," he replied as he boxed me against the car door. The sleek lines of his body pressed against my own through my clothes jumpstarted my heart into a faster tempo. The past few days had gone by in a whirl and it was not until now my feelings for Josef caught up. With the interviews and plans for my European trip pushed back to next summer as a result of the engagement, my mind never stopped on the emotions for Josef. The only thoughts I had concerning Josef was keeping up the facade of a relationship and whether he needed a squatter in his house. Even in the fake relationship we placed in front of the world, there was a natural use of words and actions towards him in front of everyone, even to my own family.

Somehow, my father accepted the engagement between Josef and I. He even encouraged Josef to take an even bigger active role in my life and support me harder in my studies. Josef merely smiled and mentioned he would not let me go off the path. Hopefully, my father would understand and not try to kill Josef once the whole charade ended. The charade would end once the freshies disappeared from the face of the earth and I wondered how far this supposed engagement would go.

"Josef," I pressed harder as I placed my hands on his chest. A ploy to get him to move out of my personal space. Instead of moving back, he gripped my wrists and pulled me closer. Now that brought back a few memories if I remembered. If he started to lean his lips towards mine then it was all deja vu.

"The interview for tonight is to announce the engagement is being pushed up. We are going to get married this weekend," he replied simply.

"This weekend?," I asked as my jaw dropped open. It took Josef fingers placed under my chin to close the jaw back up. If the engagement was being pushed up, the Melanie reporter would have mentioned in. In my head, I went over the interview and found subtle hints being dropped. Melanie kept asking about the venue and what time the reception started. I thought it was interesting she kept questioning the hour of the wedding because the event would not fall for another few weeks.

"Yes, this weekend. There is word the assassins have called in more reinforcements than I thought before. Have the wedding this weekend, their plan will be thrown off and a half-ass one will be put into place because of it. The sooner we have them wiped out, the sooner this nightmare will end," he said beneath his breath. Out in this private parking lot, we were not given much privacy. There was the other people who worked in the building littering by, all wanting to get the latest gossip on us.

"You are going to give my father a heart attack, are you not?," I simply asked, as I smirked.

"Nope, though I hope he does not drop dead at the wedding," he asked as he escorted me into the Porsche. Nope, he was not going to have my father a heart attack but he sure was driving me to having one. First, an fast engagement, and now an even faster wedding, damn I was startng to emulate Britney Spears. Now, if I started to think about shaving my head, I planned on having myself committed to an institution before the first thought of going bald entered my head. This was going to be an interesting weekend coming up.

* * *

Yep, that is how I am going to leave things. Busy with Pride Festival in San Francisco but I hope to get the next chapter up. Hope you enjoy this one. Somehow, I am trying to keep to Josef's characterization to Moonlight. I step into his shoes and try to make him as much as Josef as he can be. Review and read. Next chapter shall be on the wedding or supposed and hopefully this is where the whole revealing of feelings will occur.


	9. Touch Me, Please Me,But Don't Deceive Me

Title: Taking Chances- Chapter 9: Touch Me, Please Me, But Don't Deceive Me!  
Author: Bubukittypuck  
Archived: Here of course, Fictionpress, and my laptop  
Summary: Marguerite's first person perspective on the relationship she has or does not have with Josef. She is freshie to Josef's donor.  
Rating: It ranges from PG-13 to M later on.  
Pairings: OC/Josef  
Feedback: Review please though do not flame.  
Characters: Josef, Marguerite, Beth, Mick, and any other characters inhabiting Los Angeles.  
Beta's: None  
Disclaimer: I don't own Moonlight or the characters, though I do wish Moonlight does come back. For now, writing fanfics seems to stem the need to hunt down Jason Dohring and bring him back to my bedroom. I do not own the right to Nair though I wish the company could make it less sticky and more perfumy. Plus Saran Wrap is not a patent I hold but it does come in handy when I need to cover up a dish and send it off on its way. Chippendale I love but I do not own nor the Coolpix but I wish I owned Ashton Kutcher. I do not own Hostel and I respect Eli Roth. If I ever met him in person, I would ask him to put me in his next movies, whether I am the one being killed or the one to kill. He is a genius and I adore him.

* * *

As I turned left and right in front of the mirror nothing changed the fact I was drowning in this dress. This was the seventh dress I tried on for a wedding taking place in three days. My wedding, no less.

Beth came up behind me and checked the reflection of me in the mirror. Her nose scrunched up as she shook her head. "No, this dress puts too much weight on your hips. You do not want to be photographed in this one," she commented as she plucked at the huge bow placed in the middle of my chest. Several of the dresses in the store reminded me too much of the eighties, as if, the owner of the store had not realized puffy sleeves and skirts were out of style. Still, I had to try and find the gown for the upcoming wedding. Given, the wedding was a ploy to entice the assassins to come out of hiding; I wanted the dress to be special.

"Try this one, plus this one, oh and this one, dearie" the owner, a sprite gentleman in his early fifties commented. He held in his arms three dresses I had not noticed on the racks. Narrowing my eyes, the make and design of the wedding dresses were finished quite nicely. I nodded in appreciation towards the man and accepted the gowns from him.

Quickly, I headed into the many dressing rooms the store had. Placing each dress on a hook, I stepped back and looked at each one over carefully. One of these dresses was in the race for the wedding gown I would wear when Josef and I married this weekend.

The first dress was a sophisticated and modern tea-length (a gown or skirt with a hem that fell between the bottom of the knee and the bottom of the calf, several inches above the ankle creating a look that is elegant, yet casual) dress with beautifully embroidered halter straps that attached at the back of my neck. Good thing since I needed all the support in my cleavage. I had no problem with my breasts though the size of them made it difficult to find shirt and tank tops in my proper size. Most of the time, I bought a size larger than I usually wore and waited for the washer and dryer to shrink it down a few centimeters. A few centimeters were a lot when it shrunk in the area of my stomach where the larger size made look bigger. The dress had a glamorous rhinestone brooch provides the perfect accent to the ruched, or tight decorative which created flattering pleats in the fabric of the bust detail and flattering empire waist.

Once the halter tea-length dress was on, I twirled a bit in the mirror where the material swished against my bare legs. Beth pushed for me to wear heels with the wedding dress to get a better feel of how I would wear it this weekend. "This one is nice, I am going to try the next one," I replied, not bothering to let the owner nor Beth see me in the dress.

Second dress was another tea length v-neck dress with a pleated chiffon tank and crisscrossed tie in the back. A few more twirls in the mirror placed in the dressing room and for a second, I thought of myself as a fairy princess who waited for Prince Charming to come and save her from the evil witch or dragon.

The last dress was a yoryu (a sateen weave fabric with a soft, flowing, three-dimensional character) halter A-line twisted rope straps. It made my breasts look nice and firm, plus held them in place. I shook my chest and jumped a few times in the mirror.

"Alright, now which one will you be wanting to take with you," the man said through the door. Taking one last look in the mirror, I smiled to myself.

"I know, this one," I replied as I headed out of the door with the dress in my hands after I changed back into my day clothes. Once the wedding came, Josef would have something to say once he saw me in the dress I chose. Maybe things were looking up after all.

* * *

Word of the rushed marriage got back to the media. Beth of course had the fist exclusive and warning flags came up on the freshie assassins. From private sources of Josef's, large sums of ammunition had been bought out of several weapons store in the Los Angeles areas and several hotels reported of a slew of men buying out the lower rung of rooms and then disappearing as soon as the room was up for time. Always the men used cash and in Los Angeles, it was not unusual for a gun store owner not to ask for identification.

When engagement and wedding gifts started to arrive at Josef's house, precautions were taken. Josef's old headquarters had been bombed and he was not taking any chances on this area as well. One particular box stuck out for the rest. It was a plain, brown delivery box with no return address. The package was mailed to me in dark red ink, almost blood red if I were not mistaken.

Josef and Mick placed the box outside in the grassy backyard and listened for any ticking. When both heard no ticking or beeping with caution the box was opened. Both men peaked inside and both men looked away in disgust."

"What is inside?," Beth asked on behalf of the two of us. If the object inside the package offended two men who saw and experienced highly sadistic and twisted acts then the box overrode everything.

"It is nothing," Mick replied as he went to close the box. I started the action to bum rush Mick and tried to snatch the box out of his hands. However, Josef beat me to Mick and grabbed me around the waist. I kicked and wiggled in his embrace and caused the two of us to fall on the grass. I tried to get away and head for Mick and Beth, who was stopped with an outstretched hand but Josef straddled and pinned me down.

By this point, Mick and Beth left us in privacy though the two were arguing over the box and the relationship between Josef and me.

* * *

Beth and Mick left Marguerite and Josef to the play wrestling. Beth shook her head in amusement, wrapping an arm around his waist. "Those two need to sit down and tell each other how they really feel about the other." Shaking her head, she snuggled into Mick's side as the two settled on the living room couch. The box Mick held now enticed her even me as it sat tauntingly on the coffee table in front of them.

In his own thoughts, Mick agreed with Beth. Marguerite and Josef needed to lay everything out and say what each truly wanted to say to one another. The last few months, he noticed a change in Josef. Before, the four hundred year old plus vampire shunned advances any human female had whenever she wanted more out of the 'relationship' with Josef. His heart forever remained with Sarah. However, when Marguerite snuck beneath Josef's defenses, it took everyone for a loop. She managed to bring his good friend back from the edge of despair where he stood after Sarah's coma. Damn it, Josef had smiled for the very first time at the Charity Ball the night before Marguerite's attack. A genuine smile slipped past his friend's lips when he glanced in the direction of Marguerite as she chatted with Sasha. Donned in the alluring dress, Mick even appreciated her female form but knew where his own heart laid with.

Now, the son of a gun was getting married to Marguerite. Granted, it was to help bring out the freshie murderers but nonetheless he had proposed marriage for the second time in his existence. The first had been with Sarah but truly Mick felt the marriage would never have survived had Sarah lived and experienced life as a vampire. Bloodlust would have taken over her fragile mind and a breakdown was in her future leading to savage killings to assuage her hunger for blood.

Marguerite on the other hand would have survived the transformation. Her younger sister went through it and Marguerite accepted the lifestyle choice Iris picked out. Even Iris kept pushing the subject of when Marguerite wanted to become a vampire but at the moment Marguerite answered she needed to eat a bit longer before she had to give it up for the rest of eternity.

What Mick truly wanted was Josef to find his one true love and mate. Someone he never had to worry about looking after herself if he went away on business. A female that could argue and defend herself whenever he was in a bit of a debating mood. Put up with his mood swings and sling back her own sarcastic comments at him. For him, he felt Marguerite fit the bill. Now, if only the two opened the eyes and saw what was in front of them this whole time.

Lost in the thoughts of Marguerite and Josef forming a loving relationship, he was slow on stopping Beth from snatching the box up. "Beth, no, do not," he warned. He could have used his speed to snatch back the box and hide it away but deep down he wanted her to see the contents of the box. Wanted her to take the box and inform Marguerite of the danger she was in.

When Beth opened the package, her jaw dropped and she covered her mouth. Her other hand pushed aside the items in the box while she shook her head. "Mick, she needs to see this. It is for her own good," she whispered, closing the lid on the box, and taking it with her outside to Marguerite. Mick was on her heels but he did nothing to stop her one bit. It was for Marguerite's own good.

* * *

While Mick and Beth were in the house, Josef and I argued as we both laid on the grass. "Josef," I warned as I fought against his hold. The man was strong; I had to hand it to him. His pinstriped lad thighs pushed my own thighs together as his hands held my wrists above my head. Why did the porno song of Bow Chico Bow Wow started in my head, I had no idea. Although it showed where my thoughts were heading as I laid beneath him.

"Marguerite," he warned. A vein in his neck pulsed erratically and I focused my attention on it. If his pulsed fluttered in his neck then I safely assumed his heart beat just as fast as my own.

"Please, get the fuck off of me," I whispered on a breath. His tie tickled the side of my neck and his chest was pressed against my own. Another image popped into my head. This time it was of Josef tying my hands behind my back with the same tie he was wearing at the moment. Bad thoughts, bad thoughts, stay down, I said silently to myself.

We both stayed in his position for several long seconds, breathing heavily and fast. I felt I ran several miles without stopping for a drink of water. My throat was dry and skin hummed with awareness.

"What interesting words you use. Did your mother ever wash your mouth out with soap?," he asked with a smirk. Oh, how I wished he would use those lips and use them on various parts of my body. I had to fight hard and strong not to chew on my lower lip and give away how I felt at the moment.

"She tried but I kept hiding the soap from her. Though spankings were a bitch," I answered as I inwardly winced at the last memory of being smacked with a sandal. A sandal hurts more when there is a lot behind the swing and area that was going to get smacked. Backs of hands, thighs, neck, face, back and bottom stung a lot worse than most people assumed.

"Mmm, I might have to try that out on you. See if it works to get you to stop snooping and searching through my things." Please, I thought, please spank me and I will be your slave. Aye, my mind was running away with me and the inner thoughts.

Recently, Josef caught me in his closet. Merely, I wanted to see exactly how many suits he owned. Rarely, I ever saw him in his power suits. Every time, I enjoyed him sans jacket and his sleeves pulled up whenever we ate dinner. Well, when I ate dinner. He merely sat down with a plate full of food in front of him and watched as I dined on the succulent meals he prepared. No matter what, he and I sat down to eat and even chat a bit.

Barely, I started to count off the number of pinstriped monkey suits he owned when Josef surprised me. He came up behind me, grabbed me around the waist, and spun me around to face him. I tried to come up with an excuse and he merely smirked. The man even whacked me on the behind and together we counted the several outfits he wore. Twenty-nine, in various shades and colors.

"If you spanked me, I might moan in pleasure instead of pain." The humor went out of my voice and face as locked gazes with another. His eyes changed colors and I felt his heart beat faster against my own. Truly, I wanted him to spank me, preferably in a bedroom, the two of us naked and bathed in the candle light.

Before we had a chance to hear his witty comeback, Beth came back into the yard, now in possession of the box. "You need to see this Marguerite. Mick, she has to know what is in the box." Both Mick and Beth stopped when they noticed Josef and me still on the grass but now there was an air of sexual tension surrounding the pair of us.

Audibly, Josef growled as he pulled himself off of me. Noticeably, he removed his jacket, folded it over his arm and placed it in front of him. As for me, my nipples were trying to drill holes through my tank top. Quickly, I covered my cleavage with my left arm as I tried to make the move natural. I even covered my face since the sun was out and causing a heat wave throughout California. Los Angeles suffered the brunt of the heat and out in the sun for just a few minutes started to have an effect on me. Considerably, the bare parts of my arms, ankles, and tops of my feet were warming up. I had forgotten to slap on sunscreen and if I did not get a few drops on my body, vicious sunburn waited for me.

"Let me see," I replied as I sat up in a meditation pose. Legs crossed and hands on knees, I accepted the brown package from Beth. Josef did not try to stop me as I eyed the package and opened it slowly. The blood drained itself from my face and my blood turned to pure ice. It took several deep breathing exercises to calm down the fiery rage roiling inside of me.

The box contained several items. Each one more sick and twisted then the last. There were several snap shots of the murdered freshies. Each one taken in close range and by my guess, the murderer snapped off the photos after harming the female freshie. In a red sharpie pen, the names, ages, and the time of death of the freshie victims were scrawled beneath the photograph. Much strength was needed not to wretch all over Josef's nice grass. After the pictures was a Cd of a favorite artist of mine. In fact, it was my favorite Cd. I knew it because I had written my initials on the Cd since Iris frequently borrowed my music and rarely returned them. A copy of a wedding invitation, Josef and mine's invitation laid in the box. The last item in the package forever tattooed itself in my memories. It was a picture of me in my party dress taken at night. Disturbing part about my photographed was a big red X drawn over my face. Beneath the large X in red letters the sender placed my date of birth and death of death. Son of a bitch even placed the time of death. 8:07 pm.

Holding the X-ed out photograph of me, I held it up to the sun. Different colors played along my skin while I whistled a little tune. "Mm, I do enjoy this picture of me in this outfit, though I could do without the big X over my face. Can they not see my face is the best part," I teased though there was no humor behind my words. Instead, I wanted to find the sons of bitches and pay them a nice visit. Oh, I yearned to use a bit of the torture methods I watched in Hostel I and II to inflict upon the murdering bastards.

* * *

Beth and Mick stayed around for another hour before the two headed off to finalize plans on their part. Those two were in charge in making sure the reception for the wedding was secure enough to protect the family but had enough secret exits to get the family out once the shit hit the fan. During the hour, I put on a happy face and let the others think I was Jim and fucking Dandy. In reality, I wanted to find the pieces of shit and rip them all a new one.

Josef and I were left to our own devices as we sat at the island table in his kitchen. With a cup of water in my hands, I moved my finger along the mouth of the glass and sighed. Things were becoming too much. First, I thought I could handle all of this. What broke the idea of handling all of this was the package. Even now, Josef hid the package from sight but in my pocket, I held the X-ed out of picture of myself. To know someone watched and photographed me while I celebrated a special night infuriated and scared the hell out of me. Right now, I felt like the little girl who was frightened of the dark and what it hid from her view.

Head in my hands and staring down at my painted feet, I let Josef know how I felt. How I felt about this whole wedding ordeal. "I am out. I do not want to be in this plan anymore." There, hopefully he would come up with another plan.

"What do you mean?," he asked as he watched me over the rim of his blood wine. The past few days, I opted to prick the tips of my fingers and squeezed on the skin to get enough blood to fill a few glasses and containers for him to keep in the freezer and then drink once it was cool. Reason was I felt I might lose control and come onto him if he asked to drink my neck once more. He had no asked for my neck after the library incident but every once in a while I noticed him glance over the veins in my neck as he drank the blood I squeezed for him the night before.

"I want out. You can use someone else in my place. Hire an actress; make sure she is of my size and proportions." There were a few plus-size actresses in Hollywood. I bet each would jump, well, jump a bit, at the chance to play the part of fiancée for a little while in my place. The idea might even appeal as a jump start to their career once the bride was revealed to be another.

"Are you joking?," he asked as he placed the half drank glass of blood wine on the island table. He placed both hands on the counter and watched her beneath a hooded gaze. There were various looks which came from Josef but this was a new one. One I wished never to experience again. It was a dark and ominous glare and it made the need for a sweater to warm my skin to come up.

"No, and you can cover her face with a veil, that would work though a Mexican actress might work. The family and everyone might get suspicious if I do not at least talk a bit in Spanish during the wedding and the reception." On and on I went with the plan I had carved out. When I finished, I looked up from eyeing my painted toes to glance at him. Josef had not moved and a tick started in the corner of his right eye. Not good, not good at all.

Desperately, Josef needed to know I wanted out of this. This plan started to take a toll on me. On my health, on my mind and on my heart; a heart which beat wildly whenever he was around. When Josef was not around my heart ached in anticipation to see him again. Again and again, I wished for this ache in my chest to cease but unless I backed away from this situation the pain would get worse. Worse enough I might fall deeper into love with him. Love? Is that what I felt for Josef?

A glanced towards my ring finger said it all. More than two-thousand dollars was encased in a fourteen karate white gold one carat t.w three-stone diamond ring. Josef later gave me the website link to find out more about the damn rock on my finger. From the website it stated it was a: near-colorless princess-cut center diamond offset by a generous princess-cut diamond on each side and accented with baguette diamonds. Six additional round diamonds are set in the side of the band. One full carat of diamonds in 14K white gold. Now, that is a ring. I could cut a bitch with the diamond if I wanted to.

Now as I looked at the engagement ring, I had no damn right to wear it. Looking at Josef, I removed the ring from my finger, Bottom of Form 1

placed it on the island table and stepped back from it. Literally, I felt this was one of the most gut-wrenching things I experienced. No matter the marriage would last less than twenty-four hours. What would hurt the most would be for Josef to walk away from all of this once I was no longer needed as bait or to be protected. Better to leave him first before I fell even more for him and he left me broken hearted.

"Stop acting foolish," he cut out, the tick in his eye becoming more prominent. Josef needed to take a deep breath or he was at risk to burst a vein. Unlike humans, at least he could regenerate from the broken vein.

"No, but I would be a damn fool if I lied to my family and friends." Half-truth it was. The family and friends meant too much to lie to their faces and make a mockery of marriage. True some of the family members actually made a circus and joke of marriage but nevertheless I had no plans to join in on the multiple marriage circuses. For me, I planned to marry way late in my age but enjoy the freedom of being a single female.

"Why, because they do not believe in divorce?," Josef threw out, his eyes narrowing on me. I bet he thought I wanted to make the marriage legal in every way. In the way a male and female should. Maybe he thought I was turning out to be one of those gold diggers. Nope, I cared for him but I wanted nothing to force him to love me and to even put himself through this facade of a marriage and its plan.

"Have you not met my family? My father has been divorced three times before he met my mother. My aunt, his sister, gave her first husband the walking papers and then hooked up with my uncle. Not a good choice, but hey, that is her life. Then there is my older cousin who deserted her ex-husband for her first husband's brother. What do you think now?," I asked and hopped off the chair, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Then what, Mar? Do you want to stay married? Have the 2.5 kids, Lassie barking in the front yard and the damn picket fence house?"

Josef walked around the island table and we stood toe to toe, eye to eye, well I had to tilt my head up to glare but I kept it up. No man, not even the man who held a knife in his hand the night I was supposed to die was going to scare me. Josef might have four centuries over on me but I experienced more things as a human than I assumed he had in his lifetime. I accepted every part of my emotions and feelings while he shut him off or ignored certain feelings.

"No, I rather tend to my nieces and nephews. I am not ready for kids at the moment, maybe not for a while."

A true statement. Even at my age, no thoughts of children passed my thoughts, at all. Way I saw it, I would make a horrible mother. A mother too selfish and into her own problems then in her child's. I, Marguerite, admit I am a selfish person but a giving one at that. With my nieces and nephews, especially, Juley, I was another mother hen to her. When I lived in my birth city, I carried her as a babe in my arms and even let her watch Jackass I and II with me when her mother was not watching. Hey, I wanted her to see what she should not do no matter if someone tried to peer pressure her into doing just to fit in. She loved the scene where Bam Margera got branded on the ass in the shape of a penis. At the time, I told my niece it was in the shape of a rocket. When she came of age, I would tell her the truth.

"You are evading the question."

"What question?"

"You know what I am talking about."

"No clue at all," I answered as I tried to walk away from the situation. Josef favored being the one to have the last one in the conversation. For me to get the last word in and then walk away from him pissed him off. His hand latched onto my shoulder and turned me around to face him. I went to slap his face in retaliation. Josef used his speed to take a hold of my wrist. Once again, I went to slap him with my left hand and he grabbed it as well. He pulled me closer to him and I had to stand on my tip toes.

"Do not," he said in clipped tones, "do that again."

"Why not?," I asked as I fought against his grip. Son of a bitch spun me around and pulled my arms across my chest, overlapping one another. Tugging on my arms, I groaned in slight pain. My fixed wrist still felt the sting vibrate through the bone but I was not about to let him make me say Uncle. No way, Jose.

"Because then I am going to have to spank you like I said earlier. Maybe that will stop you from acting out," he whispered in my ear. Closing my eyes, various X-rated thoughts and images passed through my mind's eye. Him and me on a bed. The bed covered in silk and he spanking me with his hand as I wanted him too for several months now.

"Mm, then I should start acting out right now," I let slipped out. Gasping, I looked away from him but when he pressed his front to my backside, I felt he enjoyed the comment I made. From there things became even more interesting.

* * *

Few words were spoken as we removed/ripped off one another's clothes. When skin pressed against skin heat settled deep in my chest and the juncture of my thighs. His hands were hot and tore at the t-shirt I wore, retiring my Linus t-shirt with the words, 'Talk Nerdy to Me' plastered on the front of the shirt.

My own hands went to cover up myself as I felt self-conscious of what he might see. Never had I ever owned a slim body but I adored my curvaceous figure. Josef broke down the assumption I had of him as he gently pulled my hands away from my body. His look was reverent and held a hint of worshiping gaze. "You feel so good," he whispered against my neck. Wrapping my arms around his back, I pressed myself to his own and I offered to him the one vein I never let him tapped.

In his ear, I whispered, "Drink from me." He tried to decline the offer but I gripped the back of his head and nuzzled my neck against his lips. Opening his mouth, I felt his tongue against my skin. One flick, two flicks of his tongue, I shivered and goose bumps rose along my arms. Just when I thought he would pull away from me, his teeth sank into my neck. I gasped and groaned, his arms wrapped around me like steel when my knees gave out.

The pull of his mouth against my neck intoxicated and brought delicious zaps to certain parts of my body. Nails dragged along his back and I cupped his bottom. Squeezing it, I heard him moan and growl against my flesh. More ribbons of pleasure wrapped themselves around me, around us, and cocooned us in our own little world.

Josef pulled away before he drank too much. He made sure he took enough for his strength but not enough to cause dizziness or nausea. Such a good man. _My man_, I thought to myself. The thought exited as soon as he started to push me towards the bed. Those wicked hands of mine grabbed at his shirt. He started to unbutton the shirt but I grew too impatient and wrenched the shirt apart. Buttons flew in different directions and he merely smirked.

The two of us were animals at this moment and all we wanted was a good bout of sex to get our aggression and needs out of the way. His strong fingers moved across the small pink scar on my left arm where the knife went through the skin. He frowned as the pads of his fingers glided over the puckered skin.

"It is a badge of survival, almost an accessory if you will," I whispered against his lips as I stole another kiss from him. He tasted like fine wine and I wanted to get drunk off his kisses. I removed my jeans, shucking them off, and throwing them to the side. The good side to having Phantom in this room with me; he knew when to make himself scarce. Bathroom door was opened and he headed into it as soon as he saw Josef and me sucking face.

"How can you do it?," he asked as he searched my face. His eyes were stormy and glazed with passion but still the hard edge of his need to discover me lay behind the cloak of pleasure. He pressed me against the bed, his body hovering over me.

"Do what?," I asked as it took me several seconds to get my own brain to function properly again. Bottle Josef's essence and he could make every woman swoon and faint in the street, house, and in the middle of meetings. Fingers hovered and mapped out the lines of his strong arms and backside.

"Make light of this," he replied as he pointed towards the scar, then to the non-bruised wrists, unpopped kneecap, unsprained ankle, and last the small scar on my lower lip. Only he noticed the tiny discoloration on my lip. Biting down on my lower lip, my tongue flicked across the lower lip. Josef groaned and inhaled a deep intake of breath as his attention zeroed in on my rosy lips. His own were red and puffy from the onslaught of kisses we gave one another.

"It makes who I am and how far I have come along. Shows I can survive with whatever the world wants to deal me with. Might sound corny to you but for me it lets me know I can kick ass and take names later," I answered, laughing as I playfully smacked his hand away from my face. He came back and held my face in both of his hands. I tried to move my glance away from him but he gripped my chin and forced me to look him dead in the eyes.

"You are a strong woman, did you know that?," he asked me, his lips a scant millimeter from my own. I sucked in his own breath, breathing in deep of his scent, my insides branded with his smell. No matter what happened after this, at least when I grew older as a human or as a vampire, at least I had this moment with Josef. For that I was grateful and disappointed with at the same time. But it was better than never knowing the touch of his hands on my naked skin.

When we kissed deeply and sensually, it was then my heart ripped itself from my chest and attached itself to Josef's own. From this night on, the man would forever hold captive my heart. Sounds dramatic but the man held my heart in his hands but never would his own heart find its way to my own open palms. Oh, how I picked the people I fell in love with.

* * *

When I awoke, first a wave of warmth and pleasure washed over me. Soreness pulsed in certain areas that had not been used in a while. For a while it was only me and my trusty rabbit satisfying my need for a good orgasm. Now, my trusty rabbit would take a very long vacation to come.

The second wave, however, embarrassment and shame overcame me. Realization hit me as to the events of what happened last night. Aches and the delicious bites marks on my neck, wrists, and lower parts of my body showed what I committed with a certain someone. Slowly, I turned and looked over my shoulder. Josef against my back had one hand wrapped around my waist and his other one placed over my heart. In this position, he protected and owned me in the way his hands were positioned. I felt safe in his arms and yet I knew this feeling would not last long.

Phantom growled and whimpered his head popped up next to the bed. Obviously, he was jealous and angry at Josef since he snatched the spot on the bed. Past few nights, Phantom snuggled with me and now with Josef in the bed it threw Phantom off. Though there were a few positions dedicated to certain animals.

Reaching out, I caressed Phantom beneath his chin. His tail swished left and right in the air, enjoying the attention he received. "Shh, do not bark," I whispered a warning to him. Phantom saw this as a way to get back for losing his spot on the bed; the little mutt disobeyed my warnings. Damn dog barked up a storm.

Hands tightened around me and hot breath brushed against the back of my neck. The hands loosened and distinctly, I heard him mutter, "Fucking hell," beneath his breath. He pulled away from me and the sweat heat of his body left my own. Skin turned cold and needy for his touch again. We went from people caught in rapture to those wondering what the hell we did during the night. Strewn over the headboard a pair of handcuffs gleamed down at me and I tasted on my tongue whip cream and chocolate. Seems we had a good time last night.

Wiping the last of the sleep from my eyes, I tried to keep my eyes averted as much as possible while Josef collected his clothes. During the struggle to remove clothing the buttons off of Josef' shirt came off. It was my fault since I wanted to run my hands along the planes of his muscles. The buttons got in my way and had to go. Now there was only two single buttons hanging on for dear life on his shirt. He slid it over his chest, hiding the ropes of muscle laid over his stomach and proceeded to shuck himself into his pants. Last night, I found out he went commando.

I wrapped the bed sheet a second time around me where I made my own toga out of it. We never spoke during this time and I distracted myself with caressing and scratching Phantom behind the ears and back. Though I enjoyed last night, this morning the two of us were merely shaking off a one night stand. To me, I felt Josef would keep up the facade everything was fine, as if nothing had happened. Keep things light and maybe ask me if I thought there was going to be more than this. Josef as I assumed, brushed off this night, dressed himself, and asked me to finalize the last of the wedding plans.

Nodding, I nuzzled Phantom's neck and patted his bottom. Phantom took it as a sign to go back to the piece of bone meat I bought for him the other day. Once in a while, I let him roam Josef's place but knowing the spite Phantom held for Josef, I never let him near Josef's bedroom.

"The only thing to finalize is the priest," I replied, standing up from the bed, and shaking my curls around my face. Gently, I brushed my fingers through my hair and found a small knot in the back of my head. Great, seemed I acquired the dreaded sex bed hair.

"What about the priest?," he asked as he continued to talk to the wall and not to my face. If the man wanted to act like an asshole and not look me in the eye, fine. He wanted to brush this whole thing off and act Ice King about, I would as well. An eye for an eye. Play with my emotions then I would cut him off before he hurt me even further.

"The priest wanted to know if you planned to write you own vows. I am not and I assumed you would not as well. Still, I put the priest's number on a post-it note and placed it in your study," I replied as I thought about what I could do to screw him over with. Mm, the good old Runaway Bride scenario peaked my interest. Remember, if you screw me over, I will screw you back even harder.

"I might," he answered, combing his fingers through his bed hair. At least he had no worried of tangles and rat's nest because he kept his hair trimmed short and spiky.

"Might what?," I questioned. I prayed he was not serious about the vows thing. The man might make up a sonnet or tell people gushy stories about how he supposedly loved me or the night he met me his heart came alive. Though I would not blame him to go down that route. Made things easier for him to spin lies.

"I might write a vow, maybe a few lines."

"Why? There is no point," I asked as I grabbed my new fluffy bathrobe. A gift from my cousins. The bulk of the birthday gifts were sleepwear. Since I was fourteen whenever I came home from school, work, even a date, I changed into pajamas. It was comfortable and saved time when I headed off to bed.

"Make it sound more believable if I do so."

Sure as if I am going to believe him again after this.

* * *

"There is no point in writing vows. This wedding is only a ruse. Once this is all over, you and I can go our own separate ways," she replied.

It cut him deeply and his eyes only saw red. Marguerite went on to let him know she appreciated everything he did for her. The freshie job, housing when her apartment was in ruins, the birthday party at his house, even for the tuition check. She thanked him for his actions but what he really wanted was for her to reveal her feelings. Hell, last night she opened a bit of herself to him and now in broad daylight, she shut him out.

Not even when he voiced a shopping trip to New York to get both their minds off of the wedding did she accept his offer. Usually, he never offered any woman a shopping spree or more than the necessary vase of flowers. Never did he want any of the females he was seeing as more than was it was or start making plans for a wedding.

"No, you can go by yourself and you can even visit Sarah. I bet she would like that," she offered in a light tone. By this point, she started to dress herself in the walk-in closet, her voice hitting him straight in the ears and stomach. His hands clenched in anger and passion. Anger at Marguerite for bringing up the subject of Sarah. He had no clue what to think after this night.

Before Marguerite sauntered her curvaceous hips into his life, everything he held dear to himself now was questioned and placed under a microscope. Misery accompanied him for the last few decades after Sarah went comatose. He embraced the misery and solitude which made his bachelorhood all the more fitting. Sarah had held his heart. Nevertheless, the arrival of Marguerite changed the way he felt about Sarah and himself.

The night of the party when he was introduced to Marguerite through her sister, Iris, and Beth, a part of his heart was encased in ice began to slowly melt away. When he went to bed after the party, instead of the glorious image of his Sarah, the heavenly vision of a raven-haired Marguerite animatedly conversing with a group of people replaced her. In the dream, Marguerite turned her attention and green contact eyes (which he later found out her eyes were originally brown).

Little by little his heart started to open and enticed him to learn more about Marguerite. More than he usually found out. Oh and he found a lot of tidbits on her. Exactly, how many relationships she was involved in even the ones she wanted to keep under wraps. Knew the ratio of female to males she dated. The first class she enrolled in community college. First sinful/deviant act committed. Various items he never thought he would have discovered. Now, he recalled her favorite type of chocolate, worst movie, best movie choice, favorite quote, genres of music and so many trivial things.

He even saw her at her lowest after she received news her second uncle committed suicide. The second uncle of hers named Jose suffered from deep depression and bouts of mood swings. Marguerite revealed to him the fact Jose had not come out of the 'closet' to the family for fear of alienation. Only a close few, Marguerite being one of them, knew his secret. Even when Marguerite came out as a bisexual to her family, Jose felt the situation was different. For a female to admit she enjoyed the company of both sexes was experimental, almost a fascination to men because of the erotic notion of two females making out in front of them. Most men assumed if a female were a bisexual or lesbian, it meant he had free reign to have another female seduce the bi/lesbian and he would enjoy a threesome. Wrong.

Marguerite's uncle, however, assumed if a man came out as a homosexual, everyone around him would deem him a pervert and freak. The pressure had been too much for her uncle and his next door neighbor found him in the living room. He hung himself and he even offered to be her escort to the funeral but she honorably declined. In her eyes, he saw the anger and despair of the ordeal she felt at the death of her uncle. Now in her eyes he found sadness mixed with indifference.

"Fine, I will," he replied. Josef never played a woman's head games. Not about to start now.

* * *

When Josef went back to his room, the need to get a clear head overcame me. Suffocation of Josef's scent in my bed vaulted me to exit the room not caring the door was open to Phantom to roam around the place. Feet propelled me towards the front door where I opened it and slammed it shut behind me. Phantom scratched at the close door but I needed time with myself and with Phantom around he would try to chase after other pets.

What never entered into my head was the thought of the house being watched by the assassins. At the moment all I thought about was the surge of emotions and feelings pummeling me. Tears sprang and I half-heartedly wiped them away. "Stupid Josef, stupid men. Why do I date them? Oh, yeah because the fucking women I have dated are crazy and emotional baggages. Maybe I should have become a nun when the Mother Superior mentioned it," I rambled as I walked further and further from the safe hold of Josef's home.

Stopping at the side of a black BMW and bright red Mini-Beetle, I wondered whether to go back, lay my cards out on the table before Josef and wait for him to show his hand. Buried in my thoughts and wonderments, the sight of a dark car pulling up next to the BMV slipped past me. Naturally, I assumed it was one of the various celebrities wanting their privacies with the blacked out windows driving back to their multi-million dollar houses.

When I noticed out of the corner of my eye as I started to walk back towards Josef's place three men jumped out of the passenger's side red flags went up. Pivoting myself to get a better look at the men, my inner voice screamed, "_**Run bitch, run!,"**_ I pushed strength into my legs and started to huff it faster to Josef's.

"Get her!," one of the men ordered as I felt the presence of one of the men reached out to grab me by my hair. When he gripped a few strands of my hair, I tugged my hair from his grasp, managing to rip out a few hairs in the process. The need to survive far outweighed the hot stinging sensation in my scalp as a result of losing some meaningless pieces of hair.

"Ayudame! Help, someone call 911," I got out while another of the henchmen threw his weight into my back. Falling forward, I placed my hands out and cursed when my body hit the pavement. Rocks braded against the palm of my hands and skinned my knees but nothing as far as I felt was broken or fractured. My mother always told me to use my hands to break my fall if I ever tripped. However my

Hands locked around my ankles and tried to drag me off the street and towards the car. Growling, I threw strength into my feet and pushed back against the man's hold. A flip flop slapped against the man's face and he spat out dirt where the bottom of my flip flop smacked his open mouth.

"No, stay back you sons of bitches!," I screamed as I fought the men wearing Venetian masks and black attire as they struggled to get me in the black SUV. There were three men waiting in the car while the other three tried to tie down my arms and haul me up. When one of the men attempted to cover my mouth, I nipped and bit down hard on his fingers. The man cursed and slapped me for the injury. Damn, my cheek stung like a bitch.

Whipping around I got up to my feet with the help of a house's security gate at my back. The men surrounded me and I spat at them, hoping one had a fear of germs or contracting an illness through fluids. I even tried to reenact the Pumpkin scene from Flavor of Love and I imagined all of the men were New York.

"Help! Josef! Call 911! Get the fuck away from me!," I yelled as I scratched at them with my nails where I managed to cut one of the men's hands with my cameo ring when he tried to grab me by the wrist. The man cursed and muttered an oath before reaching forward to snatch my wrist again. Again, I went to scratch him with either my nails or ring but this time went for his face. Taking a hold of one side of his mask, I ripped it clean right off. At that moment, I wished I never revealed the man's identity.

"Hey, Marguerite. Still up for a date?," James asked. The occupation to be a nun appealed even more to me at this moment. Boy was I bad at picking the good ones. When will I ever learn? Never pick up someone who is known to put on the moves on every available woman who wanted him especially if the someone is a bartender who is also a murderer.

Two of the men had my arms in the time I was dumfounded by James's appearance in this fight but I continued to kick and drag my feet against the floor. Pleasure ripped through me when I slammed my elbow into one of the men who held my arms in the neck. He coughed and released my left arm as he gripped his throat and fell to the ground in agony. By this point my flip-flops came off during the dragging phase and I went to slam my good foot into his head. The man collapsed in a heap on the ground and I was damn proud of myself.

"Get her in the car and leave Aaron here for his weakness in this fight," James ordered and turned to look at me. Gone was the charming and sweet guy I had almost wanted and in its place was someone I wanted nothing to do with.

"Now we have Josef's whore to play with," he answered, his smile feral. Before I threw him a few expletives, a blow to the back of my head caused starts to shimmer before my eyes. The last sight I saw before the lights went out was James smiling cruelly at me.

"Sweet dreams, Mar," he whispered and reached forward to caress my cheek.

_Sweet dreams, my ass._

* * *

Mmm, what shall happen to Marguerite? Will Josef be there to save her? Is James going to do horrible and maybe kinky things to her? Just to let you know, I will be posting all of these chapters on Adultfanfiction and when I upload this chapter onto the other site, there will be extra things I had to leave out on Fanfiction. Since the highest I can go on my stories here is M, I had to leave some things on the cutting room floor to keep the love making between Josef and Marguerite R rated. However, on Adultfanfiction, this chapter shall have the included scenes and dialogues I snipped out.


	10. I'll Begin To Let You Go

Title: Taking Chances- Chapter 10: I'll Begin To Let You Go  
Author: Bubukittypuck  
Archived: Here of course, Fictionpress, and my laptop  
Summary: Marguerite's first person perspective on the relationship she has or does not have with Josef. She is freshie to Josef's donor.  
Rating: It ranges from PG-13 to M later on.  
Pairings: OC/Josef  
Feedback: Review please though do not flame.  
Characters: Josef, Marguerite, Beth, Mick, and any other characters inhabiting Los Angeles.  
Beta's: None  
Disclaimer: I don't own Moonlight or the characters, though I do wish Moonlight does come back. For now, writing fanfics seems to stem the need to hunt down Jason Dohring and bring him back to my bedroom. I do not own the right to Nair though I wish the company could make it less sticky and perfumier. Plus Saran Wrap is not a patent I hold but it does come in handy when I need to cover up a dish and send it off on its way. Chippendale I love but I do not own nor the Coolpix but I wish I owned Ashton Kutcher. I do not own Hostel and I respect Eli Roth. If I ever met him in person, I would ask him to put me in his next movies, whether I am the one being killed or the one to kill. He is a genius and I adore him.

Also the title of the chapter inspired by Fauxliage's song called 'Let It Go'. Such a great song and invokes what the relationship of Josef and Marguerite in the beginning. Now, enjoy.

* * *

In the shower, Josef tried as best as he could to wash away Marguerite's touch and smell from his skin. Not even half the bar of soap helped with the lingering smell that was Marguerite. Dressed in a new Armani suit he headed into the study and retrieved his messages. The howling and scratching coming from Phantom brought Josef out of the haze of thoughts.

"Damn dog is going to chip the paint," he replied as he ignored the barking and the howling of Phantom. First, he went into Marguerite's room to remind her to keep an eye on Phantom. The damn dog just wanted a chance to get into his own bedroom and cause a bit of damage. Even now, he wondered if the dog itched to leave a few presents for him in his study.

"Mar, get your Phantom," he started but stopped when he noticed the door to her bedroom was opened and she was nowhere to be found. He looked in the master bathroom, the walk-in closet, even under the bed. Josef started to call out for Marguerite to stop playing the hide and seek she seemed to put on for her dog's benefit. Angry now, he walked towards the location of Phantom and his incessant barking. Phantom only stayed in the house because of Marguerite. Never a lover of animals in his home, he feared the life of his furniture from being ripped or pissed on.

"Now, where is Marguerite?," he said aloud as he stopped at the front door of the house. Phantom laid by the door scratching and trying his hardest to jump at the door handle. An odd sensation slithered up and down his spine and the air on the back of his neck stood on end. The whines of the mangy mutt brought more concern. Never had he heard Phantom whining this much and the only reason he would was if Marguerite left him alone for too long or? The Or part did not sit well with him. Or part included if the dog sensed Marguerite was in danger. Marguerite kept yammering on and on about the psychic link dogs had with their owners. Sensed happiness, fear, even pain in one another.

Feeling like an idiot, he hunched down, looked Phantom dead in the eye and asked, "Is Marguerite in trouble?" The dog barked three times before he pawed at the door again. Though he never sought answers from four-legged creatures, he bet the deed to his house the dog was right.

Holding up a finger in front of Phantom, he instructed the dog to give him a minute as he left messages on Mick, Beth, and Iris's cell phones. Afterwards, he grabbed the necessary human items. Car keys, cell phone, and his sun glasses. When he returned to the front door, he found Phantom clawing even harder at the door. Sighing, he would have to bring the dog with him.

"Come on," he answered as he opened the front door. Before he had a chance to tell the dog to heel, Phantom vaulted down the stairs and out into the road. With speed on his side, he caught up to the dog as the mutt chased a scent it picked up. Sniffing the air around him, he smelled the lingering scents of sex and Marguerite rolled into one.

A block down the street, Phantom stopped at two cars parked against one another. There was a small space and he found the animal sniffing the ground and pawing beneath a BMW. Not caring about his Armani suit anymore, Josef got down on his hands and knees and reached underneath the car. When he pulled his hand back, he held a black flip flop. Marguerite's favorite pair of flip flops. The woman walked around in either flip flops or barefooted and her excuse was her feet needed space from her sneakers and high heels for the summer.

Growls and the snapping of teeth caught Josef's brought his attention back to Phantom. "What is it?," he asked as he held the flip flips in his hands. Phantom took off and he followed the mutt right behind. Phantom stopped at a trash can which at the moment shook vigorously. There was no need to guess what was inside especially since Josef heard the heart beat of a human inside. With his foot, he pushed the side of the garbage. Out came several bags of trash and a male human dressed in black and a Venetian mask covering his eyes.

Quickly, Phantom went to attack the man who cursed and fought from being bitten. "Get your damn dog away from me!," he snapped and tried to punch Phantom away from his face. Josef rushed to move the scene from the street where anyone could see the altercation back to his house after he grabbed the man by the collar.

Behind the closed gates, he shook the man by the neck and bit out his request for answers. "Where is she?!," he said through gritted teeth. His eyes and facial expressions changed. Eyes turned and canine's punched through as he wanted to scare the hell out of the man.

The masked assailant struggled and cursed at Josef. "She is a dead bitch. You will never save your whore," he replied as he went to kick Josef in the chest with his foot. The attempt was stopped by Josef's hand and on the ankle and breaking it with a flick of his wrist. Anger overcame him as he flung the man against the ground, finding pleasure when he heard several bones crack. He was going to have fun with this one until he figured out what to do next.

* * *

"Fuck, my head," I answered as I went to rub the back of my head. My hand jerked back and I tried once again to stroke my head but it retracted back. _What the hell?_, I thought to myself as I slowly opened my eyes. Lying on the ground, I started to notice the reason why my hand kept getting pulled back. Someone handcuffed my good hand to a thick pipe. Pulling on the cuffs, it rattled and banged against the pipe, making a loud echoing sound.

"You should not do that," someone whispered in the semi-darkness. My eyes darted in several directions of where the voice came from. Once my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting in the place, I figured out I was either in a rundown warehouse because of the several windows located across every wall or a rundown orphanage/foster center.

"Go fuck yourself," I stated as I clanged the handcuff over and over on the pipe. It started to make a little rhythm and I even sung along to it.

"I said stop it," the figure said as he reached out to grab my cuffed wrist. Looking up at him, the Venetian mask covered the top of his head, betting the guy had no use for it at the moment. Big mistake on his part. I let my eyes linger from one part of his face to another, mentally painting the image of this dirt bag in my thoughts. Once I was freed of these hand cuffs and had a chance to go at him, he was done for.

Another voice came through the darkness and it was none other than the no-good-dirty-fucking-asshole-potential-boyfriend James. His mask was off and he watched me with hatred and disgust in his eyes. "Nice to see you again, Mar."

"Cannot really say the same thing to you, James," I replied as I spat in his direction. He moved his shoe far away the spit. Damn, I was no Pumkin compared to the real one.

"You reek of him. I cannot believe it," he answered, rubbing his eyes. He looked as if he wanted to throttle me but if he tried, he would have a black eye. No man had the right to touch me unless he was a stripper or someone I really wanted. Like Josef at the moment to kick their asses.

"Believe it," I replied that response landed a slap to the face by the other gentleman. I tasted bitter copper on my tongue where I bit down on my tongue. Oh, those two needed to get closer within spitting distance.

A few more pacing back and forth and I was ready to ask him if he planned to let me eat anytime soon. "How could you? Lay with a monster? A beast that drains women of their blood, ruins relationships, marriages, hell even hopes and dreams? Why?," he asked as he sat himself down in front of me.

Licking my lips and spitting at the ground to extract the blood forming in my mouth, I merely smirked at him. James was twisted. "Why do you care?," I spat back. Once more, another slapped to the face, this one a courtesy of James's hand.

"Answer the question."

If answers were needed then I needed them as well. "Were you planning to kill me all this time? The night we went out, I had to cut the date short but were you already planning to kill me if the date had continued? Huh?," I questioned him. Visibly, he winced and his Adam's apple bobbed considerably. A slight flash of need lingered in his eyes before it disappeared and replaced with hatred.

Licking his lips, he answered, "Someone else was supposed to be there once I managed to get into your house and make the call. Make it look like you and I fought him off but I would have survived the attack and well, you would not."

Curiosity got the best of me. I had to know if there was any sort of feelings towards me. "If the situation were different would you and I have had a chance to make a relationship or do you swing for the other team?," I asked. If he admitted there was, then a slim chance I had to exploit those feelings.

James caressed his jaw where I noticed had a 5 o'clock shadow. I was taken a block and a half away from Josef's place ten minutes to ten and the sweat James and I produced in this place, there was a good guess it was around noon. Sun poured in through the windows not covered over with black paint. There were several mattresses lying around, opens cans of food and water, and a small computer system set up a few mattresses away from me. The sound of computers whirring and the ding of email arriving let me know there were computers there without having to see them.

Seconds went by, long uncomfortable silence, before James answered my questions. I even gave up on him to reply but the sound of his voice brought me out of my thoughts. "I have, _had_, feelings for you when I saw you that night but when I learned you were Josef's whore, I knew you were just like them," he answered, literally spitting out the last few words. Really, I could not blame him. Blame him not in the fact he might not have been around people of other species. Species such as Mick, Josef, and my sister, succubis' and incubis', dhampirs', demons, angels, etc. However, I do blame him for not seeing both sides of the coin.

Only time would tell me what his intentions were.

* * *

Staring at James, I wondered how I had not seen the ugliness hidden beneath the mask he wore. I might have been too eager to go on a date that included trying to forget Josef but it landed me with a psychotic murderer holding me hostage.

Earlier, I started to scream and out cursed a sailor but James had one of the men try to duct tape my mouth. The bastard who went to tape my mouth forgot one crucial thing. While one hand at the moment was cuffed to the pipe, the rest of me was not. I slouched forward which made the man have to move closer and hold my chin in his grip as he went to reach for the tape. As the asshole grabbed the tape in his other hand his eyes off of my face, my left hand shot out to punch him square in the nose. Sweet pleasure overcame me when I heard a resounding crack vibrate through the room. The guy flew back and grabbed his profusely bleeding nose.

"I think the bitch broke my nose," he yelled as he looked to James for further instructions.

"Yes, I broke his fucking nose and that is Miss Bitch to you, motherfucker," I replied with a satisfied smirk. James merely smiled as he told Don with his broken nose to clean up and have one of the boys with the medical training to set it back into place. James pulled from his pocket a cell phone and flipped it open.

Already I had a clue that he planned to call. Josef. My heart leaped in joy and I needed him to know where I was without James figuring out. Going over in my head, I went through what I could say and then it popped into my head. Smirking, I waited as James made the call to my cell phone and I planned carefully what I needed to say.

* * *

The caller id on Marguerite's cell phone showed the call was a blocked number. His fingers itched and his nerves tingled in anticipation. "Hello, who is this?," Josef asked over the line. He hoped Marguerite was alive and safe. The thought of her ending up like the other murdered freshies made him see red before his eyes.

"Josef," she answered on the cell phone. He heard the undertone of her voice. She was safe but irritated at the situation she was in. No one would be happy about being kidnapped by the people who wanted them dead.

On the outside he was calm but on the inside his anger and rage soared. He wanted blood and he wanted the blood to seep from their wounds of these men. "Yes, Marguerite. Where are you?," he asked over the line. It was a shot but he had to try it out. The men holding her might not be smart enough to realize what he asked.

"WARE is the HOUSE," she answered and repeated it again before telling him that she was hungry and needed a plate of mint chip doused in Tabasco sauce. Strange words she told him over the line. The phone was taken from her and the caller's voice he recognized. James, the son of a bitch.

"Let her go," Josef simply replied. The background check on him with a few discrepancies but he felt Marguerite would have thrown it in his face for spying on her relationships. James had one restraining order out on him on an ex-girlfriend of his. Name of the ex-lover never revealed in the document papers he ordered but the order came out two years ago. Since then, he had his sources search what connection James had to the freshie killings. His assumption ran each man held a connection to the freshies and vampires.

Marguerite's voice tried to get through the phone line but someone muffled her. "We have wanted to send a message out to you. You took what was pure and innocent and twisted and raped it for your benefit," James answered

"I can only guess you speak of music because since marketed by the Hollywood industry it has been raped for monetary consumption," he replied as he smirked, wanting to let James know he was not going to be intimidated by a bartender.

"Do not play games!," James roared over the phone.

"You are the one playing games and you will lose this game if you do not let Marguerite go."

"You mean your concubine?," he questioned.

Seconds later, a smack and a curse resounded through the phone. He growled and nearly cracked the cell phone in his hand. Josef stopped himself from doing so and knew this was the lifeline he had to Marguerite. There was a trace on Marguerite's line since the very beginning. Never had he wanted any of his freshies to reveal secrets so he made sure each cell phone had a bug on it. After the attempted murder on Marguerite, he placed a tracing mechanism in her phone. It took only a minute but once the minute was up, he could trace any call made to and from her phone to the callers'/callees' location.

"I have, _had_ your Aaron. You will end up like him if you keep harming her. I will find you and when I do..."

"We will send you word through email in a few hours time with further instructions."

The call ended and he cursed. He looked down to Phantom who had bloodstains on his fur. "Come on, lets get you bathed," he answered as he headed towards Marguerite's room to wash the dog of any evidence of the man's death. The cleaners were coming soon to sanitize his bedroom and install in a new carpet. Josef doubted someone would never notice the deep stains in the bone white carpets.

* * *

Mick, Beth, Iris, her fiancée, and the cleaners were all congregated in his living room. Each one were making plans and getting things prepared. The cleaners came earlier to 'clean' up the mess he made after showing his 'appreciation' to Aaron.

Rubbing the back of her neck, Iris sighed. "What did she say exactly on the phone?," Iris asked, snuggling into her fiancée's side. She wished she had stayed on and even kept pushing her sister to stay with her.

Thinking over the words, Josef replied, "She said, 'where is the house'. Then she announced she was hungry and wanted mint chip with Tabasco sauce. I have been trying to decipher it. She pronounced 'where' and 'house' distinctly than the other words." He wondered whether Marguerite was slowly going out of her mind with the heat or lost her function with words.

A smile came over Iris as she figured out the clues. "Mmm, good girl," Iris replied as she snapped her fingers. Grabbing a pen and small notepad from her purse, she started to write down a few words.

"What do you mean by that, Iris?," Beth asked. After the news of Marguerite's kidnapping, she dropped everything and headed out with Mick to Josef's house. When she asked what happened for Marguerite to leave the house without supervision, Josef kept sliding away from the question. He finally relented when Iris threatened to get him on a lie detector test and have everyone sniff Marguerite's bedroom. The sheets were still off of the bed and the clothes Marguerite wore the night Josef and she were together lay incriminatory all over the floor.

Scratching out several notes, she nodded and turned to the group with her results."What she said is a message I can decipher. When we were younger and even now, we made up our own code words. You know, not have everyone else trying to get in our business." A good code to have around especially now that it was needed more than ever to rescue Marguerite.

"Go on," Beth replied.

Looking at her notes again, Iris made a few corrections before she started. "Well, when she over enunciated on 'where' it was meant to be a homonym. You know? Where, ware, were, wear etc. Now, the where in where are my shoes and the wear as in wear the clothing can be taken out." She used her green pain and scratched out the two words not needed anymore.

After scratching off the two words, Iris finished with, "Which leaves us with ware and I doubt she is talking about an item. If you put it next to house, then it is ware house. She is trying to tell us that she is held at a ware house."

"Then what about the ice cream with Tabasco sauce?," Mick asked as he sat down to the right of Iris to look at her notes. He excused himself as she let him glance over her notes and hand them around to Beth, Josef, and the cleaners. The cleaners at this time watched and waited for orders. News came to them of the other freshies and had scrubbed clean the evidence of any vampire association with the victims. Now, they wondered whether a new freshie clean up was needed again.

Iris laughed as she rubbed at the sides of her eyes. "Saying she is hungry means she has news for us to chew on. Now the ice cream reference means there are men that she could have wanted to savor but the Tabasco sauce means the people are bad and have ammunition behind them. The mint means they wore black clothing primarily and the green tint of the ice cream signifies they have enough money to get the things needed." Clapping her hands together, Iris was satisfied with her conclusion.

Turning to look at Iris, he wondered if both Marguerite and Iris were considered the normal ones in the De La Cruz clan. "That is what you got from the words?," Josef asked.

Shaking her head, Iris crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her chin up at him. She hated having her answers questioned and prodded even by Josef. "Yes, it took some refinement to get the codes down. For example, if she commented on the fact a certain person had a lot of meat to eat, then they are meat heads, if another person had sour milk, then spoiled rotten, wine for breakfast then you can tell what she meant by it," she commented, using her hand to gesture her meaning.

Clicking his fingers, Iris's fiancée figured it out. "A wino," Iris's fiancée piped in, receiving a kiss on his lips from Marguerite's sister. The two nuzzled one another and the ring on Iris's ring finger glinted in the light. It caught Josef's attention and seeing the engagement ring brought a tightening to his chest. In his pocket, he grasped the ring he had given to Marguerite and found on the island table in the kitchen after finishing with Aaron.

"Nice way to talk about people's vices in front of them," Josef sarcastically replied as he looked over the notes Iris made. Though he had to hand it to Marguerite and Iris to make up their own language and go under the radar of everyone around them.

"When is the next call about to be made?," Beth asked.

Pointing towards his laptop top, he stated, "No call, he said a message would be sent through email and I am waiting on it." Everyone would wait and see when the message would show up. Show up and see what further instructions were given and whether Marguerite could be acquired back safely. Even Iris started to say a few prayers she had not used in a long time.

* * *

Lying against the wall, I wondered how much longer I would be here. How much longer before I started to hallucinate about pink elephants and dancing bears. Stomach rumbled over and over, never had a spot of water or food this morning.

"Can I get a cup of water unless you want your own person hippie on hallucinations then a few pints of water can remedy that," I answered as I bit down the side of my cheek to produce a tiny bit of saliva. With the saliva, I tried to dehydrate my body with it. My lips were dry and cracked; if I tried to smile I ran the risk of bleeding from the crackiness of my pretty lips.

"Here, tilt your head back," James replied as he held a cup of water. My other hand was cuffed to the same pair of handcuffs originally cuffed to my first hand. After I punched the other guy in the nose, everyone saw it fit to immobilize both hands. Now the cuffs scraped at my wrists and made me ask for a bit of ointment.

Tilting my head back, I drank as much of the water as I could. James poured the water a little too fast and some of the water got on my shirt and chin. Still, it was better than nothing. For now, I had to play nice and try to keep myself under control. Even though I wanted to spit at James with the water, this might have been the only chance I had at refreshments.

"Thanks," I muttered as I smacked my lips together and moistened them.

James merely nodded and sat back in the chair he currently occupied. He and I for the past few hours as far as I knew kept glancing at one another. Every few times we made eye contact, I threw him a smile. It threw the son of a bitch off.

When I did it for the eighth time, he actually smiled back and laughed. Good, progress was made. "I must say I enjoyed the smile, James. I remembered getting butterflies when you smiled at my joke about the man and the subway woman." His smile disappeared and a frown appeared just as quickly.

"You lie," he whispered as he stroked his neck. This man reminded me of the typical low-self esteem guy. The kind who used his charms to get women to like him but when the date went south, he blamed it all on the other person and walked away with clean hands. Damn, I should have seen it coming.

I needed him to see I felt something for him even though at the moment I wanted to scratch his eyes out. "Nope, that is one thing I do not joke about. Why lie about a thing like that? If your smile did not cause butterflies, I would have told you the truth." There, that should make him question his assumptions about me.

His eyes bore into my own as if he wanted to weigh my words. Hell, I am not even dead yet and he is playing the part of the judge to see whether my sins and faults outweighed the good. "Then tell me the truth on this. Why did you whore yourself out to that monster?," he asked with disgust clearly shown in his eyes.

Ooh, I had to tread carefully on this one. Say anything he might not like and he would shut himself off. Ah, men.

"I barely know him. I met him at a party to celebrate my sister's upcoming album." That was the truth. Iris's fiancée had started up his own music label and my sister happened to walk into his office wanting a meeting with him. Other labels wanted to sign my sister but the labels wanted to change my sister's music, her image and have someone else write her music for her. She went to him and you could say the whole love at first sight happened to them. Physically, he was twenty-seven years old. However, mentally the man was close to a hundred years old. Formerly, he was boot leggers and fought in the one of the World Wars, I do not remember. When the craze for music came in the fifties and new stars started coming out of the woodworks, he jumped on the bandwagon. Of course he had to play the part of his own son and grandson but he made it work.

Now when the two met, I remember my sister telling me he was an old soul. At first, I thought she meant he was mature for his age. When I met him at a family function, I felt and knew he lived more lives than his body stated. I believed in reincarnation and karma. A person holds memories of their past lives through the dreams, déjà-vu's and even in their personality traits.

With Iris's new man, Stephen reinvented himself every ten years or so to throw off suspicion off of his age and background. Photographs of him mysteriously disappeared or he gave excuses as to why he did not want his pictures taken. Finally, my sister photographed him one night after she spent the weekend at my house. She made copies and gave me one in case he came back to try and destroy the original and negatives.

When he revealed himself to Iris, at first, my sister wanted nothing to do with him. She was not upset he was a vampire but she was angry he had not told her sooner. Trust was always an issue with Iris. Her first love cheated on her with her best friend. After that, she managed to attract the men who treated her like crap and I was there, along with the De La Cruz clan to clean up and handle the ex's. The vampire thing never bothered her because she and I were always interested in the supernatural. Hell, one of our grandmothers is a curandero.

"Tell me more," James replied as he laid his head in his hands, his elbows on his knees holding him up. Good, I had him hooked.

"We met and the first thought that popped into my head was how arrogant he looked. You had those few times you met him," I asked as I tried to use my hands to gesture. James nodded and smirked. In reality, the first thought I had when I met Josef was actually how his smile never reached his eyes.

"Yes, he made me feel as if I should have bowed in his presence. Sicken me."

"Same here, I stayed as far away from him as I could. He is damn snake charmer. I felt the women surrounding him pushed the rest of the women's rights back a few decades. I swear those women would have parted their legs and begged Josef to have them right then and there on the floor."

James nodded fervently and he scooted his chair closer. There was a gleam in his eyes, a fanatical gaze I had for certain authors. Gena Showalter and J.R. Ward made me quake in my flats whenever I read their books. He inched closer, his expression that of a priest holding conversation with God.

"Yes, the women at the Banquet drooled all over him like bitches in heat." The way he said those towards made my skin crawl. A rare occasion to be offended, even with words, but James took the prize.

"Yes, I noticed."

"I noticed you were not drooling over him like the others. In fact, you opted to sit down with Sasha then dance with Josef. Why?"

Again, I had to be careful in what I said. He was open to me and even interested in what I had to say. Great, only man who wanted to actually listen to me was relatives and psychotic murderers. Can never get a break around here. "He asked me as a backup. The first date of his never got back to him and he asked me out of the night of the charity ball. He knew I was home since I studied most of the time. I was his pity date and because of it, he had no right to make me stay by his side. I did my own thing, hence, why I ended up at the bar with you and Sasha." It helped to try and make up various lies and weave them closely together for him.

"What about you and him being a couple? Was any of that true? I smelled sex on you earlier."

Double damn. No idea whether to tell him the truth or not. If I told him Josef and I was not a couple I might not be considered worth anything and killed. If I said I slept with Josef which in James's eyes might constitute as a couple act, the ties I created with James would be severed. I went with the most basic half truth I came up with.

"Back in January, there never was a relationship but he asked me out several times. I said no every time because it was not right, especially since I worked as his personal assistant. Last night, I brought back to my place an ex-girlfriend and we, you know..."

James cheeks went pink and he cleared his throat. "Yes, I had no clue you were. Are you lying about the sex with the girl?"

I shook my head even though it was a lie. "I have known I was a bisexual since high school. Remember the comment I made about Angelina Jolie on our date?" Ooh, even at this moment, Angelina popped up into my head and I pushed it back to keep myself on track.

"Yes."

"I was serious about the make out session with her. Even had a few sexual fantasies and dreams about her," I replied and plastered a smile on my face. Yes, I lied about the female ex coming to my place but the bisexual lifestyle is true.

James cheeks became even redder as he rubbed the back of his neck. The neck rub thing I caught on as a sign he was uncomfortable/confused by a subject. "Then tell me why there is a bite mark on your neck?" He stood up from the chair and headed towards me.

Crap, I forgot about the bite mark. Had to think fast. "My ex-girlfriend was a biter. Loved the rough sex. Check my backside; you can see where she smacked me with the belt she brought." Thank god, it was true. Josef and I had been in a position where he slapped my backside and pulled my hair. You can guess which position it was.

James eyed me and I eyed him back. "Do not kick me," he ordered as he came around. I was not about to piss him off just when I had him in my grasp. No problem I had in James to take a look at my ass. If he had not turned out to be the asshole he was he could have had a chance to sleep with me.

Audibly, I heard him swallow and groan. "She did a number on you."

"Yes, one of the reasons why I left her. She wanted to cut me with a knife while we had sex the last time."

He shook his head and I nodded. Tisking, he sat back down in his chair. Much better. The rest of the men came around to inform him of the latest newscast and if Josef left his house. Each one asked about my fate and if each could have fun with me.

"Hey, buddy my standards are not that low even to take you on," I snapped as I gave him the stink eye. The son of a bitch who asked to take me for a ride tried to walk over and slap me. James grabbed the guy around the wrist and shook his head.

"No, Samuel. Remember you must respect women."

"She is no women but a vampire's whore."

This was my chance. "Vampire? What the fuck are you talking about?," I questioned, feigning confusion at his words.

Samuel and James turned to look at me. The way they looked at me was a mix of astonishment and bewilderment. Both men must have assumed I knew everything and anything on Josef's condition as I liked to call it. For now, I had to let them think I was naive and brainless to get them off my scent.

"What did you say?," James asked as Samuel rolled his eyes. Once more I had to weave up a nice lie to them. I told them James and the others must have been jokiung. Maybe Josef played a role in a movie or even dressed up as one for a banquet the two had seen him attend.

"Josef is a vampire, Marguerite," James stated.

"She knows, James. The bitch is just playing dumb."

"Hey, Sam. Do me a favor and shut the fuck will you? I want to hear what James had to say. Now what are you talking about? There is no such thing as a vampire. Vampires burst into sunlight, hate the cross, and loathe garlic. Josef has been out in the sun, bought me a crucifix while he held it in his hand and ate garlic bread the one time he came over for a visit. He is only a Euro-trashed spoiled brat."

Samuel cursed and shook his head while James eyed me for any sign I was lying to them. I held his stare and even threw him a confused-as-hell look.

"Is that why you hate Josef? Because you think he is an undead being when really he is not?," I asked as I raised my eyebrows at him. This time I burst into laughter and had to ask for someone to wipe the tears I managed to shed from laughing too much. My laughter echoed through the warehouse and James's buddies asked to shut me up because I made far too much noise.

"We will find out soon enough," James whispered as he ordered the men to duct tape my mouth. Seems the man had enough of our conversation for now. While forced to be mute, I would continue to think of ways to twist James's mind to me and prayed Josef kick the living snot out of this bastard before I got my hands on him.

* * *

Friday morning:

I was screwed. Another day had gone by. Two days spent with James and his gang. We talked and slowly he revealed the basis for this whole scheme. Since he thought I was going to be dead in a few hours, he figured better for me to know the whole plan before he murdered me. Every man in the room had a connection to the murdered men and women.

Sonja was Samuel's cousin, a woman Samuel doted on until he heard she had gotten into the wrong crowd. The crowd being the vampire community, mostly the elite vampire community who hired freshies for their services. Samuel blamed Josef for marring Sonja's outlook of life.

"Once, Sonja wanted to marry, have children and live a simple life. After moving to Los Angeles to study in literature, her dreams changed. Her attire, speech, even her personality changed. All she thought about was marrying a rich man, not a man she loved but one who would support the lifestyle she yearned for."

Samuel noticed the bite marks and later on the track marks on Sonja's arms. He assumed Josef had drugged her to use her while she was unconscious. Really, Sonja had a heroin addiction for a while and one of the reasons Josef rarely needed her services.

"I am sorry for your loss but Josef abhorred drug use. Sonja worked as a temp assistant but when she started to use drugs heavily, Josef let her go and pushed her to enter rehab," I replied. When Sonja tried to barter her body to pay for her next high to Josef, he offered to pay for her rehab and clean herself up. Sonja refused and went to me and the other freshie of Josef's for drug money. I denied her but the other freshie took pity on her and gave her a couple of dollars. After that, the last time I saw Sonja was a Polaroid of her murdered body. On that note, I remembered my time of date on the X-ed picture.

"Lying bitch, you take that back!." Samuel shouted as he came forward. His eyes were glazed over with anger and resentment. Red marred his nose and cheeks, a good indication he tried to drink away the pain of Sonja's death. Though I wondered whether he drank to forget the fact he could have killed her with his own hands.

The man had to know the truth about Sonja's addiction. "Did you not notice the track marks? Even the ones on the backs of her hands? She had to do it there because her veins were collapsing in her arms." When Sonja forgot to pull down the sleeves of her shirt, I managed to catch the various needle marks but I never questioned her about it. I knew but it was Sonja's demons she had to fight with no one to baby her.

Last time Samuel was never able to smack me but this time Samuel managed to slap me. James had tried to hold him back but Sam managed to fight the hold and went to slap me a second time. However, I had the advantage to kick him in the shins. He cursed, hollered and grabbed at the place of impact.

Sneering at him, I whispered in a voice I used only to get my message across, "Do not try that again. I may be handcuffed but you do not get to play dirty. You want to fight? Then let's do it one on one with no handcuffs stopping me the next you want to fight."

Samuel sneered and promised to exact revenge. Other than James and Samuel, the rest of the group included Max, Conner, Steven, Don, and Jagger. Jagger must have been a nickname because the man had the lips of Mick Jagger.

James had a connection with Gabriela, Josef's other dead freshie. The former freshie placed a restraining order on him a year or so back. From what I remember she mentioned a guy named Jameson who was obsessed with her. He kept telling her she was a Goddess sent from above and who needed to be looked after day and night. The man grew jealous over Gabriela conversing with other men or people the guy thought would make her want to cheat or rebel against the image he wanted her to be.

This James before me had the crazy factor but he seemed good on my sexuality. Well, the courts ordered James after he received the restraining order to attend anger management and therapy. In Los Angeles, for him to get a job as a bartender with his criminal background was either looked over or never came up. I guessed looked over since Los Angeles is always in need of alcohol, drugs, and sex which opened up a lot of occupations to fill in the positions to push all three of the vices to the public.

Somehow, each of the men felt the problems stemming from their connections to the freshies were on the heads of the vampire community. Every man assumed the existence of non-human caused the mayhem and destruction of the humans and the interactions. In reality, the men were using the vampire's as a scapegoat for their own mistakes. Granted, there may be a few vampires who actively caused the other freshies to commit adultery, murder, drugs, etc and other times it was the freshies themselves who caused their own troubles.

"Well, tell me, James. Were you the one who took the lovely pictures of me in the dress when you went out to "grab" cd's from your car or did you have someone else do you dirty work?"

"Max (the one who I gave the broken nose to) took the picture. He is better at getting a person's good side," James replied as he ate a sandwich. I was given water again three more times and even half a ham sandwich. James held the sandwich to my lips and flicked off the crumbs from the corners of my mouth and shirt. It became awkward when I informed them I needed to use the restroom. Jagger and Samuel ordered me to go in my jeans. I refused and shot back the risk of a yeast infection setting in if I peed on myself. Now, if I held it in, I warned I might contract a urinary tract infection which might cause my bladder to burst and killing me. It was a lie about the bladder bursting but I wanted to get the message across if I died Josef would stop at nothing until he had their heads on a gold platter.

James spat out orders to take me downstairs to use the semi-functional bathroom. Conner and Don, two new men I became acquainted with guarded me and showed me the way to flush the toilet using a bucket of water to pour into it. My hands at the time were removed from the cuffs and I rubbed the marks where it cuffed into my wrists. Don and Conner stood their backs to the none-existent door and I had to keep asking if they were going to watch me while I went.

"No," Don replied and shook his head.

"No, and hurry up." Conner answered.

"You better not watch you perverts," I muttered beneath my breath as I made my business.

After I made my business and made use of the bucket of water to flush the toilet, the men brought me back to the pipe. I did not fight because I wanted James to think I was slowly coming around to his side and accepting my fate.

Cocking my head to the side once I was handcuffed again, I asked James what he felt for me the afternoon we went out. "Did you really want to go out with me or were you solely interested in slicing my throat open?." We managed to converse to whittle away the time.

James thought over my question carefully and I whistled to pass the time for a bit. "When I saw you, it was not at the banquet but at your school. I trailed you for a while but the first time I saw you I admit you caught me by surprise. You were not the regular female these vampires enjoyed."

"Is that so? What type of females did these so called vampires liked?," curiously, I asked. From what a lot of the vampires wanted women of a high status to show off at events but low-class to play with in the bedroom whenever they tired of the high-maintenance ones.

"Supermodels, women of slim statures and the kind that most men would want," he answered, his eyes lingering on my breasts and neck. Those eyes of his kept going back to the bite mark on my neck and I tilted my head to the side to stop the sight examination.

"Gee, thanks for the boost of self-esteem," I muttered but I let him hear clearly.

James frowned and narrowed his eyes at me. Damn it. I hoped he would not realize I was using the classic women problems to doubt his ideas about who I was. "You never needed to fish for compliments, why now?," he asked, his curiosity peaked.

The rest of men were occupied with setting up the video equipment up to record the next set of instructions and send it to Josef's email account. At first, I thought the men were not smart enough to figure out their IP address could be traceable. Max, one of the men connected to the last of the freshie killings seemed to be an expert in changing IP addresses and confuse the computers into where exactly the information came from. Afterwards, I heard the computers would be fried and thrown out.

Shrugging, I turned to look at my feet where each toe was painted a different color to represent the rainbow flag. Since I was not able to attend Gay Pride in San Francisco because of the upcoming wedding, painting my nails and feet would show in spirit I participated in the blessed event.

"Alright, we are ready," Conner informed James, glancing from him to me. Seems my cinema debut was now. Once again, my mind whirled with what I could say in the video and have Josef and the rest of the group decipher without letting the other men catch on.

* * *

"Josef, meet me at Santa Monica Pier tonight at 7:30 pm. An older gentleman near the entrance of the Monica Pier will give you a map. There, the map will lead you to a secluded area of the beach. No one will disturb the trade off. No cell phones, cops, or other "vampires." Break any of these rules and I am dead. This is a monkey's barrel in my pants. Really, now boy toys?," I asked the last few seconds during the video was recorded. James and the others were not happy for the last few comments. Again, they made me retake the whole thing but I added, "Suckle a rat and watch your cookies, dearies." When the fifth take came around, a gun in Jagger's hand was held to my head.

"Either you say what is on the cards or when Josef opens up the video it will be you having your brains shot out."

"Nice use of grammar."

The safety was removed and cocked, ready to blast away my face if Jagger pulled the trigger. Sighing, I went back to repeat what was on the cards but I kept enunciating a few of the words. The meet part became meat, pier became peer, beach turned into bitch, disturb morphed into disturbed and made sure the vampires part was punctuated harshly. I wanted Josef and the others to know the meat part was about the men were not strong in physical but in using whatever was around them to get the job done, peer that he should definitely bring Mick and the other necessary people to help out, bitch into there were a couple of the men who had a temper like a bitch which can be used to antagonize and throw them off their games, disturbed for the fact all of them were maniacs, and vampires because I needed Josef and the others to vampire out and take care of business. Hopefully, the message would get across if Iris was there to decipher it for the group.

Once the video was sent out into cyberspace, James and his companions all slapped hands and cheered. "We will get our revenge and after we wipe out Josef, we let the other brothers know of it and have them rain down on Los Angeles to exterminate the rest of the community." His eyes settled on mine and he smiled. The smiled turned my blood into ice and I looked away from him. James's smile reminded me too much of the devil waiting to collect his souls.

* * *

Growling, I fought and made them work harder to push me into the back of the SUV. "No! Do not even do it! James, please...," I begged, my legs wiggling as I placed them against the closed door. Conner, Don, Jagger and Samuel held me up by my arms and legs in the air while Max heated up the SUV and James watched on. The men were loaded up with guns, knives, stakes, and holy water ready to murder and torture Josef. I tried to talk with James after the video was made but he kept himself near the computer monitors. Jagger and Samuel both watched me near the pipe and muttered what a waste of a good fuck I was. As if I would ever sleep with any of them. Each men talked about how when this was all over, if James even thought of keeping me, all the men would have a chance to teach me a lesson in respecting men.

The image of Josef dead and me held in captive as the men's whore made me gag and I retched the contents of my stomach up. None of them went to offer me water to clean out the taste of vomit from my mouth and my throat burned with the stomach acid it encountered.

"Get her in the car, now," James stated. Max jumped out of the car and the other four men moved a few feet away from the car. With the door was opened to them, it became easier for them to throw me in but I continued to struggled and scream. As a result of the screaming and throwing my weight into the other men, I was gagged and cuffed by the ankles. Jagger and Samuel's guns both prodded against the sides of my sides, warning me to be a good girl and not cause any more trouble. On the trip to the Santa Monica Pier, I swatted at the inching fingers of both men from my thighs. No feel me ups unless you are invited, I thought to myself. God, I hoped everything went well.

* * *

Josef walked towards the Santa Monica Pier, taking in the sights of what it had to offer. He came here every few months to see any new events hosted but rarely did he come near the end of the week. More people attended the Pier towards the end of the week and made it harder for him to identify if the men were in the crowds and where the old man was around.

"Sir, some spare change," a voice asked several feet in front of him. He turned his eyes from the people jostling to enter the stores and the rides to a homeless man holding a tin cup in his hands.

Reaching into his wallet in his back pocket, he grabbed two twenties and placed them into the cup. The man nodded at him and grabbed something from his ragged shirt. "This is for you and thank you," he replied, whistling to his companion, a terrier as he went on his way, the dog trailing close behind him.

Quickly, he headed away from the Pier and down towards the beach. Opening the map, he stretched it out in front of him and glanced immediately at the location. The secluded meeting place was another mile from her. Josef could make the trip in less than two minutes. "A mile to my left from where I am standing, guessing an area where it will be surrounded by the mountain hills, a good place to form an attack from around if I stepped into the middle," he muttered to himself. The small microphone attached inside of the breast pocket picked up his words and transmitted itself to a dark blue mini-van in the parking lot.

Inside the mini-van, Beth, Mick, Iris, Stephen, and the cleaners waited inside and listened to his words. All who had keen eye sight stared down Josef's back and turned in the direction of where he looked towards.

"Alright, we will follow you several hundred feet away but know to give us the signal and all of us will be there to assist," Mick said into the microphone where the message landed in Josef's left ear. Logan Griffen, tech geek extraordinaire helped to hide a skin colored ear piece and a few more gadgets to let everyone hear and see where Josef headed towards the meeting point. Now everyone waited in anticipation to see whether or not the need to slaughter was required.

* * *

"Let her go," Josef said several minutes later when he arrived at the assigned meeting place. Marguerite was handcuffed by her hands and a gag placed around her mouth and a pair of night vision goggles over her eyes. Her legs kept moving as if she were trying to dance with two guns pressed against her sides.

He eyed James and gritted his teeth. The man changed he could see that. Gone was the façade of a bartender laughing and seducing Marguerite and in its place stood one ready to have a good fight. Oh and Josef ready than ever to show him how to handle business. Brought back a lot of fighting memories and this one he intended to fight.

The rest of the group even in the semi-darkness also wore night vision goggles to keep the fight away from light and wanderers. If the men wanted to have it that way, he had no problem with executing them away from humans' eyes. Sooner he and the others cleaned house, he definitely was going to have the 'talk' with Marguerite about where they stood with one another.

"You want your whore? Well, let us hear her speak her peace first," James answered, signaling to Jarred to remove the gag. The order for her to wear Aaron's night vision goggles was in good reason. James wanted her to see him kill his precious Josef before her very eyes and he could not let her own imagination guess what pain he inflicted without seeing it with her own eyes.

Once the gag was released from her, Marguerite flicked her tongue several times over her bottom lip. Inside, Josef's blood pumped itself down South when he witnessed it but he had other matters to attend to. The plan to rescue her from danger far outweighed the image of her naked and pressed against him while he did various things to her.

A few breaths in and out of her lungs and Marguerite looked straight at Josef with the goggles. "James, how about you remove the handcuffs?," she answered which earned her a strike across the face from Samuel. Josef strode forward on his feet towards Samuel after witnessing the injury he caused against his Marguerite. His. His Marguerite, who needed to get to safety as soon as he could ensure for it to happen.

James held a finger out and waggled it left and right. "I do not think so. Get close and," he stated as he let Josef hear the guns cocked and placed against Marguerite's temple. Josef's anger shot up several degrees as he clenched his fists. He muttered beneath his breath the codeword, "Death", and everyone in the mini-van shot out of the car and headed off.

"What did you say?," Conner, Don, and Max asked as they came behind Josef, their guns ready and stakes out to stab them right in his chest. The men brought along a few more things and Marguerite voiced them with mouthing it to him.

"I said fasten your seat belts boys because I am turning this car around," he replied as his closed his eyes, opened them and let their fears come to fruition with what he was.

* * *

Screams and curses filtered through the air blanketed over by the waves crashing against the shores. Wind slapped at my hair and face as Josef threw Conner and Jagger away from me. I cried out in triumph and held my cuffed wrists out to Josef in a gesture to help me with removing them. Never did he bat an eyebrow as he gripped the chain between the cuffs and ripped them apart.

After I thanked him, I headed off to find a weapon to use against James and his buddies. Only thing I managed to come upon before Max came at me to wrap his fingers around my neck was a beach rock. Using the rock, I bashed the side of his head when he fell on top of me. I threw the rock again over his head, satisfied when he did not get up from the blows.

"Serves you right," I muttered as I grabbed the weapons off of him. A couple of knives, throwing stars, and a gun with no bullets meant the knives and stars were my only choice of weapon. At least I could use the gun to hit someone over the head with.

"Hello Marguerite," James answered as entered into my line of vision. He must have Don and Conner do the dirty work with Josef while the rest of the group handled Josef's posse.

"Hello, James," I answered as I palmed the knife in my right hand. Finally, I had my chance to teach this son of a bitch not to mess with a De La Cruz woman.

Knives slashed the air as screams and howls of pain resounded around James and I. We both held knives in our hands with steady fingers. He and I waited for the other to leave an opening to attack. This could have been a moment in a dance number. Every backwards step he took, I came at him with two steps and a swipe of my knife.

"You could have been a grand person if you joined our movement. What a waste of a good woman," he spat out as he moved forward.

"Like I wanted to join your damn cult," I shot back and gave him the finger to further push the fact I loathed men who talked to me in that fashion. This man deserved to be on the end of the knife I snatched from Max.

I danced with him in a circle but my steps must have been off because his knife sliced through my other arm. Muttering a curse and letting the blood further push me towards my goal, I went forward and slashed the side of his face. Damn, it felt good. He wiped at his face with his arm and noticed the blood stains. James growled and warned I would pay dearly for it.

"Sorry but all I have are a few dollar bills in my g-string," I shot back, wanting to incite his rage even further. The more I agitated him, the more the chance to catch him off balance in either his next thought or move appealed dearly.

What caught my attention from the corner of my eye was Jagger holding a bat with nails on it. The son of a bitch must have kept it hidden from my sight when I was thrown into the SUV. Jagger's intent with the bat when I realized it was to swing at Josef's head and hopefully take it off. Mick, Beth, Iris, Stephen and the cleaners were too busy with the other members to catch the new weapon in the fight.

Losing my concentration, I screamed, "Josef, watch out!" Josef heard and moved quickly from the swing of the bat. Before Jagger had a chance to swing the bat around, Josef was there to rip the bat from his hands. Jagger got cracked over the head with the bat and he went down for the count, a few nails sticking out of his skull. Ouch.

The distraction to warn Josef cost me fatally. James's knife stabbed in the stomach. Pain shot through my whole body as I tried to keep myself vertical. I looked from the knife protruding from my stomach to the man who held the knife. To me, everything went slow motion as I processed why I had this knife buried inside of me.

"Go to hell," James whispered as he pushed the knife in deeper. I cried out in pain but I gritted my teeth against the wave of dizziness. He smiled at what he accomplished. I smirked back and with the last of my strength, I stabbed the knife into the side of James's neck.

"You first," I whispered as I fell back. Josef was there to break my fall and gently placed me on the ground, his arms wrapped around me. James eyes went wide with shock as he used his hands to staunch the bleeding but it was too late for him. He fell to his knees, his eyes on me. Before he keeled over, James threw a small smile towards me.

"See you in hell," I whispered. God, this was the exact same image shown to me in the mirror. The portrait announced how my death would be. Just like the mirror revealed, blood poured from my stomach, staining the front of my shirt and sweet Josef held me as I lay dying in his embrace. What better way to leave this earth.

My hand reached out to caress one last time the man who would forever hold my heart. "Come on, we can get her to the hospital if Josef takes her," Beth answered.

"She is bleeding out too fast. Moving her will cause her to bleed out faster," Mick answered as he helped to stop the blood loss by pressing his jacket against the wound. I groaned and hissed which caused Josef to growl at him.

"I am so cold. I need a blanket, please," I pleaded, my teeth clanking against one another. Josef rubbed my arms, covered me with his jacket and laid the sweetest kiss upon my lips. I was touched.

"Do it," Iris urged, "she is dying, Josef." My eyes blurred as I tried to keep my vision on Josef. I coughed and tasted on my tongue the bitter copper blood.

"Do you accept the new life I am going to give you?," Josef asked.

Laughing as best as I could, I nodded. I coughed up more blood and everyone urged him to hurry up before it was too late. Teeth against my neck, I thought I heard him say he loved me but it must have been the loss of blood making me hear things.

A slight dull of pain overcame me as Josef drank from me. One bloody hand came up to hold onto his shoulder as he gorged himself on the last of my blood. Black spots started to show up in front of my eyes and my breathing grew labored. From what I could make out, Irish was latched onto her man and Beth snuggled into Mick's side.

All waited on bated breath. The last image I caught before total darkness overcame me was the sight of Josef, lips stained with my blood with love and fear in his eyes. That's a way to leave this earth.

* * *

My, my, ladies and gentleman. Seems we have a predicament. Marguerite may or may not be dead. Now remember, I never ever said Marguerite and Josef were made to have a happy ending. In fact, all I said was a relationship between the two and how it overtakes them. Will she die? Now all stories need to have a happy ending especially if the story was meant to have a death. Shall Marguerite die or what? Wait till the next chapter and let me know what you think.


	11. Kiss from a Rose

Title: Taking Chances- Chapter 11: Kiss from a Rose Author: Bubukittypuck  
Archived: Here of course, Fictionpress, and my laptop  
Summary: Marguerite's first person perspective on the relationship she has or does not have with Josef. She is freshie to Josef's donor.  
Rating: It ranges from PG-13 to M later on.  
Pairings: OC/Josef  
Feedback: Review please though do not flame.  
Characters: Josef, Marguerite, Beth, Mick, and any other characters inhabiting Los Angeles.  
Beta's: None  
Disclaimer: I don't own Moonlight or the characters, though I do wish Moonlight does come back. For now, writing fanfics seems to stem the need to hunt down Jason Dohring and bring him back to my bedroom. I do not own the right to Nair though I wish the company could make it less sticky and perfumier. Plus Saran Wrap is not a patent I hold but it does come in handy when I need to cover up a dish and send it off on its way. I used two lyrics of Taking Chances by Celion Dion to which I based this whole fanfiction off of. What if Josef took a chance in wanting to love again Chippendale I love but I do not own nor the Coolpix but I wish I owned Ashton Kutcher. I do not own Hostel and I respect Eli Roth. If I ever met him in person, I would ask him to put me in his next movies, whether I am the one being killed or the one who kills. He is a genius and I adore him.

* * *

Josef stared down at the photograph of Sarah and himself. He was so happy in the picture with her. She had her arms wrapped around him and both of their faces were to the lens. Quickly, his eyes flickered over his own expression in the image. Such serene features he had on his face.

Now his eyes focused on the second photography. The second photograph revealed Marguerite and him in the picture. In Marguerite's old apartment, the picture had been taken after he caught her with the stacks of porn videos. After the explanation as to why there were more than twenty X-rated movies on her coffee table and even on pause on her television, Marguerite had invited him to stay and watch a movie with her. No, not the skin flicks but a new horror movie she bought earlier in the week.

In the picture, she stuck her tongue out towards the camera lens and he was laughing. Of course, Marguerite had to poke and tell various dirty jokes to get him to even hand out a half smile but she succeeded in cracking him up. Upon closer inspection, Josef noticed he had created laugh lines in the shot and he touched the image of himself. Using his own fingertips, Josef examined where there should have been the laugh lines in his face but all he felt was smooth skin.

After the picture developed, he had taken it away from her. Not even in the hands of a trusted friend could evidence of his young appearance be revealed in any form of photographs, films, even portraits. It would be hard to explain to others why there were several photographs of his "grandfather" in the early twenties who he resembled accurately. No one would believe he inherited every facial and physical attributes of 'ancestors'.

"Josef, we should get to it. The people are waiting for you to get the ball rolling," Mick replied, donned in a black suit for this sad event. Mick tried to keep himself from feeling much but it was hard not too by glancing around him. There were flowers placed all over and people wondered what would happen next after this.

Nodding to Mick, Josef sighed and let his hands take a hold of both pictures. Somehow, he fell for two women but only one held his heart. "I will never forget you," he whispered as he placed one of the pictures face down on the mahogany desk. The other snapshot went into his inner breast pocket where he rubbed his hand over his heart and the picture in his jacket. Closing his eyes, he took a human breath, not that he needed it and headed out to greet the hundreds of people here for this ceremony.

With all his might, Josef tried to keep his eyes straight ahead but hearing stifled sniffles and choked sobs moved his attention towards the first front row of pews. Marguerite's mother dabbed at her eyes, wiping away the smeared mascara and found comfort in Iris's arm wrapped around her. Iris fought back tears as well, her eyes glimmering as she held onto Stephen, her fiancée's hand.

The priest, a man in his early forties stepped forward with the bible in his hands. "Let us start," the father spoke aloud, the microphone attached to his robes permitting his words to reach even the tardy attendants in the back of the Roman Catholic Church.

Josef closed his eyes and he held his hands at his sides, actually praying for strength. The music started up and the doors in the back opened up. Marguerite's nephew, Jesus Jr. aka Chewy, walked through the double doors. In his four year old hands, he held a white pillow and on top of the pillow laid two silver rings.

Behind Chewy, Juley, Marguerite's favorite niece had in her hands a basket of flowers. Both children were dressed in immaculate outfits and both started to walk one behind the other towards the altar. Chewy kept yelling for people snap more pictures of him and even stopped in front of the priest and asked him to hold the rings so he could be free to pose for the cameras. People laughed and his mother, Marguerite's cousin, Lita, scurried over and tugged him by the collar towards the second row pew.

Juley played the part of flower girl well, throwing rose, camellia and blossom petals over the ground. She smiled at everyone and glanced back at the bride to be. "Gurro (Juley and the De La Cruz's nickname for Marguerite)," she screamed as she crooked her finger at her aunt to start walking. Everyone shook their heads in amusement and turned to gaze upon the radiant bride.

Dressed in an ivory wedding gown with a bouquet of arranged flowers in her hands, Marguerite turned to glance at her father. Her father cleared his throat several times and he opened his mouth to speak but she stopped him. "I love him Papi but I love you more. You will always be here," she whispered, touching her heart with her hand.

Cristobal, her father smiled and nodded in agreement. He was glad to see his daughter having found a man who would cherish and love her as much as he did. Looping her arm through his own, he started to walk his oldest daughter down the aisle. His baby had grown up.

* * *

My god. I am walking down the aisle with my pop who is going to give me away. Going to give me away to become Josef's bride. Josef, who I love dearly. Who loves me dearly back as well. As we made the slow but steady procession down the long Church aisle, my mind went back to the events leading up to this.

_Last night, after James had stabbed me in the stomach, I thought death waited me. When Josef kissed me and held me in his arms, I was ready to go. What better way to head to heaven, hell, or in between than to at least be kissed by my Prince Charming before expiring? When the gift of immortality presented itself by Josef's hand, I accepted it with every fiber of my being. Better to live and stay with everyone than to leave behind friends and family who would forever mourn my death. _

_Hell, I could not put my parents through that. For my father to learn of my death, his heart would not be able to take it. A daughter lost because of the choice I made those many months ago to become Josef's freshie and then attacked as a result of my connection to Josef would tear him apart. Any solution to death far outweighed the disappointment of my failure to protect myself from danger. _

_Several minutes after darkness had enveloped me a searing heat started in my stomach and rippled out. I opened my mouth to release a silent scream but the sweet taste of wine splashed itself onto my tongue. Opening my mouth further to catch the stream of wine, I licked and drank down the precious liquid. My hands reached up to make the liquid come out faster. When my hands clasped a wrist, quickly, my eyes shot open. When I opened them, the sight before me revealed where the delicious drink had come from. Josef's slashed wrist._

_Josef had leaned over me with his slit wrist, the drops of blood hitting my open mouth and tongue. Remotely, I was not repulsed by the blood but hungered for more. _

_"Easy now," Josef whispered as I suckled and latched my mouth onto his wrist. Deep pulls were made on his wrist and the rapturous nectar flowed past my lips faster and made my body even hotter. _

_"That is enough," Mick whispered as he grabbed my shoulder. I hissed and pulled away from Mick's touch and Josef's wrist. Rapidly, I blinked my eyes and took in the sights before me. Without the need of the night vision goggles, if I were human all I would ever see was black blobs that made up a person, the sounds of the ocean, and the stars/Moon in the sky. Now, I saw everything with such clearness, the sky could have been illuminated by illuminating moon stretched out over the sky. _

_Even the night sounds came in a rush to my ears. The ocean though several hundred yards away from me, the splashing and swirling of the mist and saltwater jammed itself into my ears. Splish! Splash! Whoosh! The many sounds of the ocean letting me know it welcomed me into this new life. "Is that?," I answered as I heard the sounds of a couple getting down and dirty a half a mile away from the secluded part of the beach._

_Iris and Stephen nodded, smirking to themselves. "We heard them doing a few other things back in their car parked next to the mini-van. The flexibility the chika had in the Benz amazed me. Made me a bit jealous too, Stephen when we get home," Iris started as she whispered a few suggestions into his ear. Hells, bells, I heard what she wanted to do to him and I had to cover my ears, muttering an old lullaby to dull out her naughty comments._

_As soon as everyone found I was walking around fine, all went to tidy up the beach. The cleaners went to work on removing the bodies and any tangible evidence of there ever being a massacre in the first place. Had to hand it to them, if the cleaners could remove the small bits of sand stained with blood and then switch it with their own, the cleaners held my highest respect. _

_Hell, even the warehouse where James and his group kept me captive was cleaned up. The computers were trashed and the hard drive swiped clean with magnets but not before the cleaners and Josef had several copies of whatever was on the computers. James was not the only person who had a group of men out to annihilate the vampire community. Josef and the others guessed James and his crew were part of a complex organization with the sole purpose to rid the vampire community._

_"You cannot be serious? Vampire hunters? Well, call me Dick Cheney and shoot me in the face," Iris joked though by her face expression she was not pleased to hear of hunters. She was still getting used to the fact of who she was as a vampire but to find out there were organizations out there to wipe out her and those she cared about, including me, well she transformed into a hell raiser. _

_"Nice one, honey, but I would hate to ruin your face and then the label would get on my ass for shooting off their client before a photo shoot for you next album. So, maybe I can hit you with a water pistol instead, how about that?," Stephen answered back, a smirk dancing on his lips._

_Iris smacked Stephen's arm but entwined her fingers with his own. God, I was envious of them. In their eyes there was love and commitment to one another. Rarely, a vampire couple stayed together and usually had an open relationship but the way the two held on to one another, clearly no one else would get in between them. _

_Mick, Beth, Iris, and Stephen went to 'check' on the cleaners' process, which left me alone with Josef at the edge of the waves coming in and out from the ocean. I looked across the vast ocean and honed in on a fishing boat several miles out at sea and smiled to myself. Josef watched over me as I searched myself for any knife scars on my arm and stomach. Only mark I had was a nasty purple bruise where the knife went into my abdomen. _

_"It will disappear in a ten minutes, maybe less. The blood needs a a little bit of time before everything is up one hundred percent," he whispered, laying his hand over my stomach. I placed my own hand over his and we looked at one another._

_"I almost--"_

_"I love--"_

_"What?," we asked in unison. Both of us laughed and glanced away. Josef shocked me once again by getting on one damn knee. _

_"Josef..."_

_"Let me get this out. I love you. There. Somehow you took my heart and me for surprise. I thought I would never love again..."_

_"Please, do not do this if you are trying to save face," I answered. I could not handle it. If he was trying to save his ass or make good on the lavish wedding my family and friends would attend, then he could shove his chivalry up his ass. _

_Josef growled and pulled me down on my knees by my wrists."Listen to me! Sarah cannot compare to you. Ever. I loved her once but I loved her like a childhood crush. It was the first time I opened my heart and I never thought I could open it again. You cracked the safe and you my heart locked away in the safe. I want you, just you and no one else. Sarah is in the past but you are my future. Please, give me the honor to make up for wasting the last few months fighting these feelings, please?"_

_His lips were upon mine and arms wrapped around each other. My hands held onto his shoulder and realized he was not going to leave at the drop of the hat. If he meant his words, he would use his actions to showcase it. He had, Josef had gotten on his knees in the damn sand and proposed marriage to me again, this time for the love they both shared._

_"Josef," I answered, pulling my lips away from him. Our foreheads pressed against one another as we let the shivers and shudders pass through our bodies. Licking my lips, I gave him my answer. "Yes, but you better make me the happiest vampress or I am so going to kick your ass."_

_"Oh, I will, come back to the house and I will gladly make you happy."_

_"Don't think so. Can't see the bride starting...now," I replied, blowing a raspberry and ran from him. He growled in amusement and chased after me but my dear sister stopped him. _

_"Bad luck to see the bride in the twenty-four hours before you are going to marry her. You can wait a few more hours."_

_"Once I marry her, I promise never to put a time-limit on how much I can love her."_

_"Can I get that writing?"_

_"Iris, you can tattoo that on my ass because I am going to marry your sister."_

* * *

And he was. Josef was going to marry me in the next hour.

In front of the priest and Josef, my father removed his arm from my own, took my hand and placed it in Josef's waiting hand. My father leaned in close so only Josef could have heard but everyone in the place who was non-human heard and whispered, "You keep my daughter happy. Harm her and you will regret it. Dearly, you understand?"

The non-humans smiled to themselves and I had to stop myself from pinching my father into behaving myself but what was the fun in that. De La Cruzs' no matter the sex or age walked to the beat of their own drums. My father would forever march to his own tune and I was not going to stop his music.

A short nod from Josef towards my father and it was enough evidence for my father. He walked away and sat down to my elated mother who had managed to control the water works. Though her camera came out of her purse and she started clicking off pictures. For now, Josef and I had no worry for the cameras. In fact, we wanted the whole world to know about our love.

* * *

The priest made a sign of the cross and everyone did the same as well. To Josef and Marguerite it was a funny gesture considering Marguerite had fallen off of the Roman Catholic bandwagon a long time ago. Oh, she let the rest of her family and friends keep their beliefs and faiths, she had no problem with leaving them that. For her, she found herself looking at karma and reincarnation for her perspective. With karma, whatever a person sent out whether it was good or bad came back to them three-fold.

Marguerite became involve as Josef's freshie. As a result of her employment as freshie, she came under attack by James in three points. First, she had fought Deacon for her survival, ending up in the hospital. Second, proposed only to wean out who the murders were and squash them. Last karma handed over Marguerite's kidnapped/death.

But Karma gave her a good three fold gift inserted in between the consequences for being Josef's freshie. Karma had given an incentive for Josef and Marguerite to become closer. Second, he put himself at risk to save her from James. Last, but certainly not least his feelings were revealed not only through making her his second 'offspring' but proposed a real marriage to her.

* * *

Sitting on the bench with a rope of flowers placed around the happy couple, the priest finally started in on the vows. "We are gathered here today to witness the coming together of two people, Marguerite Elisabeta Valgaz De La Cruz and Josef Kostan, whose hearts and spirits are entwined as one. They now desire to profess before the entire world their intention henceforth to walk the road of life together.

To these two young people, this marriage signifies the birth of a new spirit, a spirit which is a part of each of us, yet not of any one of us alone. This "birth of spirit" reminds us of summer, the season when all life is reborn and looms again. It is appropriate, therefore, that this wedding of Marguerite Elisabeta Valgaz De La Cruz and Josef Kostan be in the summer, and that it be under the open sky, where we are close to the earth and to the unity of life, the totality of living things of which we are part."

Both Marguerite and Josef listened to the priests words and took everything to heart. There was the morphing of two lives into one and their spirits meshing into a whole and together one. Glancing at Josef, Marguerite blushed deeply and looked at the engagement ring on her finger. Soon, a wedding ring accompanies the engagement one for the rest of her immortal life. The priest continued with his spiel to the couple in love and to the attendants at the wedding.

"The beliefs and thoughts about love which motivate these two people are perhaps best expressed in the words of poet Kahlil Gibran:

You were born to be together, and together you shall be forevermore.  
You shall be together when the wings of death scatter your days.  
Ay, you shall be together even in your silent memory.  
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,  
And let the winds of the heaven dance between you.  
Love one another, but make not a bondage of love.  
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.  
Fill each other's cup, but drink not from one cup.  
Give one another of your bread, but eat not of the same loaf.  
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone,  
Even as the strings of a lute are alone, though they quiver with the same music.  
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping,  
For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.  
And stand together, yet not too near together,  
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,  
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in shadow."

Finally, the priest glanced towards Chewy and his mother who held the rings on a satin pillow. Motioning for them to come forward, the priest reached over and grabbed the white gold diamond ring meant for Josef's left hand and handed it over to Marguerite. Marguerite took the ring and sighed happily. The end was almost near to this ceremony and she could shout from the rooftops that she was married to the man she adored and loved.

"Do you Marguerite Elisabeta Valgaz De La Cruz, knowing this man's love for you and returning it, realizing his strengths and learning from them, recognizing his weaknesses and helping him to overcome them, take Josef Kostan to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Staring into Josef's eyes, Marguerite own glimmered with unshed tears. "I do," she whispered as she placed the silver ring on his finger.

God, she would love this man until the ends of time. However, for her family and friends most of them would see them love each other until death came to take them from Marguerite's life. Marguerite hoped to bring several members of her family over to her side but remembered her mother's helpful advice: To those who choose how to lead their lives, let them go but to those who need help to be led keep them near. Wise words coming from her mother. Still, Marguerite and her sister, Iris, would find it hard and heartbreaking once the hands of time started to show in their friends and families faces. It had become an issue both women talked over and wondered how to go about revealing to their family about their conditions. The only person who had an inkling was their curandero grandmother who eyed them with a twinkle in her eyes and asked if the girls had enough of red 'wine' to get them through the day.

"Speak up dear, what is your answer?," the humble priest asked, cocking his head close to Marguerite's ear.

"Yes! Yes! I do want to take Josef as my husband!," she shouted out and smiled. The church rang out with hoots and hollers. Everyone was pleased to see these two together. Marguerite's curandera grandmother was right after all.

_A man cloaked in darkness would find his way to Marguerite, the keeper of light. There the two would combine and live anew with the two halves finally a whole._

Turning in the direction of where her elderly grandmother sat down, Marguerite winked at her. Patria Consuelo winked back at her granddaughter and nodded in approval of this union. Hopefully, soon she would get one of her other granddaughter's to give her great- grandbabies since Iris and Marguerite were out of the running. She smiled to herself and wiped a tear off of her finger.

With an approving nod, the priest replied, "Place the ring on his finger." Sliding the ring on Josef's left hand, she smiled and patted it. Taking his hand, she kissed it and winked up at him. Heat and love flared brightly in his eyes and she keeping the fire in his eyes for a long time to come.

Another nod of his head and the priest received the second white-gold wedding ring and handed it over to Josef. Marguerite held out her left hand and smiled as the priest repeated the vows again this time to Josef. "Do you Josef Kostan, knowing this woman's love for you and returning it, realizing her strengths and learning form them, recognizing her weaknesses and helping her to overcome them, take Marguerite Elisabeta Valgaz De La Cruz to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Josef smirked and winked at her. "Of course, why do you think I am here for? A funeral? Please, I am here to make sure she does not run off with Gerard Butler or someone less cute than me." The first few pews who heard his joke laughed and the priest frowned a bit but there was a ghost of a smile on the man of the cloth's face.

"Place the ring on her finger. Let these rings serve as locks–not binding you together–but as keys, unlocking the secrets of your hearts for each other to know, and thus bringing you closer together forever.

And now Marguerite Elisabeta Valgas De La Cruz-Kostan and Josef Kostan, seeking the fulfillment of love and marriage, find again that the poet Gibran speaks for them:

"Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.  
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks to another day of loving.  
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;  
To return home eventide with gratitude, and then sleep with a prayer  
For the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips."

Closing the bible, the priest made the sign of the cross, told everyone to stand out of their pews and announced, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

And that is what Josef did. He reached for his new bride, grabbed a hold of her and stole the very breath from her body and sucked it into his own. Arms wrapped around each other and showed what a real movie kiss should be all about. Blushing deeply, Marguerite gripped Josef's hand as he ran with her down the aisle and out of the doors. Everyone settled in the pews looked on in confusion and others in amusement. Out in the Los Angeles sun, a limo waited by the curb and Josef kept pulling Marguerite along.

"Get in," Josef replied, opening the door for her. Marguerite looked back at the gathering crowed and shouted for everyone to head on over to the house for the reception. Everyone hooted and shouted, happy that is was time to partying and drinking in honor of a happily married couple.

When the door shut behind Josef, he went in to rip the veil from Marguerite's face and kissed her with everything he had in him. Which was a lot since he had almost lost her three times. The first of the attack she went through in her old apartment. Second where she was kidnapped and last when she almost lost her life to warn him of a bat with nails heading towards his face. Now, she was here and he would do everything to make sure she stayed by his side.

"So, Mr. Kostan, what do you think about your life at this moment?," she asked, smiling at the chance she managed to get to talk after the salacious kiss he gave her.

"Couldn't get any better."

"And all because you took a chance."

"Taking chances, the best thing anybody could do. I love you, Marguerite."

"I love you too, Josef and well, how about taking a chance on children?," Marguerite curiously asked.

"Kids? You cannot have kids even though I would love to see little Mar-mar's running around asking to be spoiled."

"I did not say it was me, but it would be nice to see little Josef hissing at being forced to wear a mini pin-striped suit. The children part is towards Phantom. Seems he knocked up your next door neighbor's dog. The owners doesn't want the dog or the babies since the puppies would be mutts. So how about it, got room for a couple more?"

"Hell, going to take another chance and hope it will work itself out," he answered, leaning over to kiss her again. He would never get sick and tired of kissing his bride, his wife, his immortal mate.

"Again, taking chances, best thing we could have ever done," she replied and took the hand of her husband and immortal lover, Josef Kostan. For now, she wondered what the future held for the two of them but she could bet there would be another new chapter to get ready for. The organization James had been part of was just a link in a bigger company who wanted vampires out and wanted to know the formular for immortality. Everyone was on their toes and Marguerite had a feeling it would not be the last time she had a run in with a vampire hunter again.

"We are here at the reception. The first dance just to let you know is Kiss from a Rose and it hits just how you and I are," Josef commented as he stepped out of the car, his hand held out to pull her out.

Taking his hand, Marguerite smiled. Taking chances. Yes, that is what life was all about. Jumping off of the edge and never knowing if there was solid ground below. Hell, she jumped off and into love with Josef, never realizing he would jump into loving her as well. With every day, she would thank the sky and the earth below for this moment in time and hold onto it with every fiber of being. She took a chance with Josef and taking chances certainly paid off.

The end...or just the beginning?

* * *

There we go ladies and gentleman. The end or the beginning of a new story with Marguerite and Josef? Just because female vampires cannot have children does not mean it is over. You never know if there is a surrogate mother or even adoption is an option for the lovely couple. Just know this is not the end of Marguerite and Josef Kostan's relationship. Sorry for the very late reply. Got caught into my month vacation and involved in sleeping in and partying. Hope you enjoy this and let me know what you thought about this whole story. Let me know what you even thought about Marguerite, good, bad, love her, hate her? Review! I love reviews.


End file.
